


Ten Sessions

by Leslie_Knope



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-04-25 21:15:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4976806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leslie_Knope/pseuds/Leslie_Knope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Danny hurts his knee, Steve is a physical therapist, and their worlds collide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Session One

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Polski available: [Dziesięć Sesji](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7903558) by [MobyDick](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MobyDick/pseuds/MobyDick)



> Title comes from the How I Met Your Mother episode of the same name, but the similarities pretty much end there.

“Mother _fucker_!” Danny yells in anguish as the suspect they had been chasing barrels into him. They twist and both fall to the ground, with the brunt of the man’s not-inconsiderable weight landing on top of Danny’s knee. The Hawaiian guy manages to scramble to his feet and run off while Danny can only roll onto his side and try valiantly not to vomit.

Goddamn, why is it always his knee. Why can’t these knuckleheads go for the shoulder or something for once, the change would be so refreshing. Danny clenches his fists and presses his forehead to the ground, trying to concentrate on the crisp smell of the grass rather than the searing, prickling burn in his knee. He takes a couple of loud, shuddering breaths and is really proud that his lunch is staying where it’s supposed to. Can’t break that streak.

After a few minutes the pain finally clears just enough for Danny to open his eyes. Kono is hovering above him, and he tries to focus on her panicked face. “Kono,” he grits through his teeth. “Don’t worry about me, go get the guy.”

“Chin and Meka got ’im, it’s good,” she says, and her smile only looks a little shaky. “The paramedics are on their way. Is it your knee?”

“Yeah,” he gasps. “It’s the bad one, too. Fuck.”

Kono kneels down next to him and grabs his hand. “You’re gonna be fine. Just hang on.”

* * *

Sometimes there are perks to being a member of HPD’s major crimes task force, and chief among them is not having to wait in the ER—usually. At least there’s a dim silver lining to this shitty day because Danny’s quickly whisked away for an MRI. Eventually the pain medicine kicks in, and Danny exhales gratefully as he’s finally left alone to doze in a dark, quiet room.

“Hi, Detective Williams,” someone says, an indeterminate amount of time later, and Danny struggles to open his eyes at the feel of a warm hand on his leg.

“Hi,” he says blearily. He blinks, and it takes him a few attempts to focus his eyes on the slim, older woman standing next to his bed.

“I’m Dr. Rosenberg, the on-call orthopedist. I just looked at the results of your MRI, and we need to talk about your knee.”

“Oh god. How bad is it?” Danny says with a wince.

“Well, the great news is that it’s not your ACL.”

“That’s, uh, good, I guess,” Danny says, struggling to sit up a bit. “Then what’s the bad news?”

“You’ve torn your medial collateral ligament, also known as your MCL, which is the ligament that connects your thigh to your shin on the inside of your knee.”

Danny groans and drops his head back down onto the bed. “Surgery?”

“Actually, no. MCL injuries rarely require surgery, and yours shouldn’t either.”

“Really? Then what’s the treatment?”

“Mostly physical therapy. But you need to keep your weight off of your leg as much as possible for this first week in order to help the selling go down. That means a knee brace plus crutches.”

“Physical therapy, huh?” Danny says, wrinkling his nose. He remembers how painful it was the first time with his ACL.

“Absolutely, that’s how these injuries heal. And you’ll need to follow up with me in six weeks or so to get another MRI and see how that ligament is healing.”

“Okay,” Danny says, blowing out a breath. At least there’s no surgery. “How long do I have to do PT?”

“About eight to ten weeks, I would guess, and you should be good as new. I’m going to refer you to Dr. McGarrett—he owns a clinic in Kahala and is the best in the area. And I’ll write all this down for you, don’t worry,” she says with a chuckle as she pats his good leg. “I can tell you’re a little woozy. How’s the pain?”

“It’s—not bad,” Danny says slowly. His brain feels a little like mush, and thinking takes a lot of effort.

“I’m glad,” Dr. Rosenberg says, smiling. “I’ll be back in an hour or so to give you some instructions and a prescription, then you’ll be free to go—as long as someone can drive you home.”

“Okay,” Danny says, eager to close his eyes again. “Thanks, doc.”

* * *

Someone knocks on the door, and Danny jerks awake at the sound. He turns his head, disoriented, to see Kono standing in the doorway. Oh, right. He’s in the hospital with another bum knee—which thankfully he cannot feel right now.

“You ready for me to bust you out of here?”

“Kono!” Danny says with a wide grin. “You’re so pretty, I don’t tell you that enough.”

She laughs and drags a chair over to his bedside. “They got you on the good drugs, huh?”

“Oh, yeah,” Danny says, nodding slowly. “It’s awesome. Can’t feel a thing.”

“I’ll bet. So what’s the damage?”

“Fuckin’ tore my MCL.”

“Ho, sorry, brah,” Kono says, frowning. “At least you don’t need surgery for that, right?”

“No. Ten weeks of physical therapy, though—that’s gonna suck.”

Kono winces in sympathy. “It sure is. And I’m going to have to rely on those schmucks Meka and Chin to back me up,” she says, flashing those dimples.

Danny groans. “Though I’m happy that you just used the word _schmuck_ —seriously, so thrilled—thanks for the reminder that I’m on desk duty for the foreseeable future.”

Kono laughs. “Come on, Sleeping Beauty,” she says, standing up. “Let’s get you out of here—I can’t wait to drive the Camaro.”

* * *

“Hey, Steve.”

Steve finishes scrawling a note in a file and swivels in his chair to see Mary standing in the doorway of his office.

“Your next appointment is waiting,” she says, and he nods.

“Thanks, Mary,” he says, shuffling through some papers on his desk. “Remind me which one that is?”

“It’s the referral from Dr. Rosenberg at Queens—the police officer with the torn MCL,” Mary says. 

“Oh right, thanks. I’ll be out in a sec,” Steve says, turning back to his papers. He can tell that Mary is lingering in the doorway, so he sighs and speaks without turning around again. “Yes?”

“He is  _really_  attractive,” she says. “And definitely your type.”

“Mary, come on,” Steve says, rolling his eyes. He turns to see Mary grinning—she takes way too much pleasure in the fact that Steve is bi, if only because she gets to tease him endlessly about both men  _and_  women. “First of all, you don’t know my type. But you do know that I don’t date patients.”

“Well, you should probably make an exception for his one,” Mary says. “Because I’m going to ask him out if you won’t.”

Steve grimaces and stands up. “It’s really awkward that that’s even a possibility.”

“I know, big bro, ain’t it great?” she says, smirking.

Steve pushes past her with a frown and strides down the hall toward the front of the building. He stops short when he reaches their small waiting area, but Mary just cackles as she elbows past him toward the reception desk.

There’s only one guy sitting there, scowling at his knee brace as if it’s personally offending him. He’s blond and handsome and looks built—fuck, maybe Mary  _does_  know his type. 

“Uh,” Steve starts, looking down at the file in his hand. “Daniel?”

The guy looks up, seems a little startled for some reason, and then winces as he gets to his feet.

“Danny,” he says, balancing his weight carefully on his crutches to offer his hand.

“Steve.” Danny’s grip is strong and dry, and Steve likes it. A lot.

“Not Dr. McGarrett?” Danny says with a smile. _Fuck_  his eyes are really blue.

“A little too stuffy for me,” Steve says, lifting one corner of his mouth in a smirk. “Just Steve is fine.”

“All right, then, Steve.” Danny gestures widely. “Lead me to your torture chamber.”

Steve laughs and shows Danny to one of the exam rooms. He gestures for Danny to hop up on the table and takes a seat for himself on the stool. “Not a fan of physical therapy then, I take it?”

“Nope,” Danny says, popping the  _p_. “Tore my ACL when I was younger, and the PT was horrible. Little old lady who really seemed to get off on my pain.”

“Well, at the very least I’m not a sadist, I promise,” Steve says, smiling. He flips through Danny’s file. “The ACL was on the same leg, right?”

Danny nods. “The doc at the hospital said it looked okay, though.”

Steve pulls out the scan of Danny’s MRI and holds it up for him to see. “It does. See it right there?” Steve asks, pointing with the tip of his pen.

Danny leans forward and peers at the image. “Where’s the MCL?”

Steve shifts the pen slightly to point at a different spot. “Right here on the edge. See this line that looks sorta wavy? That’s it.”

Danny winces and sits back. “Yuck.”

“How’s the past week been?”

“I really hate not being able to move around, but the pain hasn’t been too bad. And I think the swelling has gone down.”

“Let’s take a look, okay?” Steve says. He stands up and starts to carefully remove Danny’s knee brace.

“How can I be sure you’re even really a doctor?” Danny asks as he lays back and braces himself on his elbows. Steve tries not to notice that the motion pulls his shirt even tighter around his shoulders. “You’re not even wearing a white coat. I’ve never seen a doctor in cargo pants.”

“Well, I’ve never had a patient wearing a tie,” Steve says mildly, “so I guess we both get new experiences today.”

“God,” Danny groans. “You’d think I was wearing a clown suit, with all the shit I get about this tie.”

“Next time wear loose pants or shorts, okay?” Steve asks as he rolls up the leg of Danny’s dress pants. “Easier to get at your knee. Though feel free to wear whatever color tie you want—I won’t judge.”

Danny snorts. “Yeah, right.”

“Okay, maybe just a little,” Steve admits. He puts a hand on Danny’s knee but retreats when he sees him wince.

“Is this going to hurt?”

Steve stifles a smile. “I’m just going to take a look at your mobility and show you a couple of basic exercises that you need to do at home. It might feel a little sore or uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t hurt.”

Danny nods and takes a deep breath. Steve gently palpates the inside of his knee and carefully watches Danny’s face. He looks wary, maybe a little guarded, but not in pain as he watches Steve’s hands on his knee.

“Feel okay?” Steve asks. “I’m just checking the swelling, but it’s not too bad.”

“Yeah, it just feels tender.”

“Good. So your MCL is on the inside of your knee, and it protects your knee from bending inward. What I’m going to do now is test the strength in the ligament by pressing on the outside of your knee. We’re going to do this a lot to see how it’s healing, so always tell me if it hurts.”

“Oh I will, don’t worry.”

Steve laughs. “Somehow I don’t doubt it.”

He bends Danny’s leg just a little, places his hand on the outside of his knee, and leans his weight very gently into it.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Danny hisses, after just a few seconds, and Steve immediately releases.

“Sorry about that.”

“Well, you don’t seem pleased that I’m in pain, so this is already a step up from my last physical therapist.”

“I’m glad the bar is so low,” Steve says, and Danny huffs out a laugh.

“Yeah, lucky for you. What’s next?”

“We’re going to start off with two easy exercises,” Steve explains as he folds up a thick towel. He taps Danny’s leg to get him to bend his knee and then props his heel on the towel. “Start with your knee bent, just like this, and slowly straighten your leg. Let gravity do the work, and go just to the edge of discomfort. Yeah, that’s it. You need to do 20 reps of this, twice a day, every day.”

“This hurts more than I thought it would,” Danny says with a scowl.

“I know, it’s startling,” Steve says, wincing. He remembers all too well. “When all of a sudden it doesn’t work like it used to.”

Danny exhales sharply and grits his teeth as he finishes.

“Now we’re going to go the other way,” Steve says. “Start with your leg straight and slowly slide your heel up toward your butt, until you can feel it in your knee. Think of pulling with your hamstring and try to keep your knee relaxed. Yup, just like that. Same thing here: 20 reps, twice a day, every day.”

“How much should this hurt?”

“It’s going to be uncomfortable because you’re testing the ligament, but don’t go so far that you’re in actual pain,” Steve says, carefully watching Danny’s leg as he does the exercise. “How’d this happen anyway?”

“My partner and I were chasing this guy—real big Hawaiian guy—and he fell right on my knee.”

“Ouch. A moke, huh?”

“What the hell is a moke? Are you talking in Pidgin? Do I _look_ like I know that language? Really?”

Steve can’t help but laugh at the affronted look on Danny’s face. “A moke is exactly what you described. Big local dude.”

Danny just rolls his eyes.

“Well, did you guys at least arrest him?”

“Sure did. And I thoroughly enjoyed adding _assault of a police officer_ to his charges.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Steve says. “Good job, you can sit up. Be sure to keep up with those exercises, okay?”

“Every day, right?” Danny asks, and Steve nods, taking a seat once again in the stool.

“So MCL injuries are generally pretty straightforward in that they usually respond nicely to a combination of rest and physical therapy,” Steve begins. He’s glad to see Danny listening intently—his job is so much easier when the patients are invested. “But yours is complicated by two factors. The ACL helps to stabilize the MCL, and since you’ve injured yours before, we need to be a little bit more careful. Also, considering your job, we need to get you back to a higher level of strength and agility than most people would require.”

Danny nods slowly, his lip caught between his teeth. Steve averts his gaze.

“But I should be able to—to still be a cop, right? I mean, once this is healed.”

“I see no reason why not,” Steve says honestly. “As long as you keep up with the exercises and work hard, we should be good to go.”

“Okay,” Danny says, offering a small smile. “I think I can do that.”

“Good. So here we usually rotate patients among the therapists, but due to the slightly complicated nature of your case I’m going to keep you with me, okay?” Steve says. He definitely wants to keep a close eye on Danny, and the reason is completely professional. Well, 90% professional. “Just tell Mary at the front desk, and get appointments set up every week for the next ten weeks.”

Danny nods and stands carefully, grabbing his crutches from where they’ve been resting against the wall.

“Oh,” Steve says suddenly. “This week, you can move around more, though I’d still recommend taking it easy overall. And you should keep the brace on, but you can start to decrease the amount of time that you use the crutches. You have a cane? That would be helpful.”

“I do,” Danny says, holding his hand out for another shake. “Thanks, Steve.”

“You got it, Danny,” Steve says with a smile. “See you next week.”

* * *

Danny hobbles back to the waiting area, bracing gratefully against the reception desk when he gets there—his knee is definitely sore. He manages to smile at the receptionist, whose nametag says Mary.

“Hi,” she says brightly. “Danny, right? You need to schedule some more appointments?”

“Yeah, ten weeks. And Steve, uh, Steve said I need to stay with him?” Danny says.

Mary tries and fails to muffle a snort. “Yeah, I’ll bet,” she says under her breath.

“Excuse me?” Danny says with a frown. 

“Oh, nothing. Any particular time of the day good for you?”

“Uh,” Danny says, thinking. “Mornings, I guess. Maybe before work?”

“How about 7:30 on Tuesdays?”

Danny grimaces but nods. Guess Steve’s gonna find out that he’s not exactly a morning person.

“Okay, then,” Mary says. “You’re all set, see you next week.”

“Thanks,” Danny says, sparing her a smile. He steps outside just in time to see Kono getting out of her car.

“Hey, buddy,” Kono says, and Danny only grunts in response. “How was it?”

“Awful,” he says with a groan as he lets her hold the door open for him. “Pure torture. Steve is an evil, evil man.”

But Kono only laughs, and Danny scowls harder. He awkwardly lowers himself into the passenger seat and fumbles with the car door.

“Oh really?” she says, back in the front seat and buckling her seat belt.

“Ugh,” Danny says as he glances out the window and spots Steve exiting out of a side door. “Speak of the devil.”

“Wait, that’s him?” Kono says, pointing through the windshield. 

Danny nods and closes his eyes. 

“So…what you mean to say is that you hate him because he’s so gorgeous, right?”

Danny groans and tips his head back against the seat. He rues the day he told Kono that he’s bi.

“Because I’m just saying,” she continues, “if I had _that_ _guy_ back when I hurt my knee, the PT woulda been a whole lot more fun.”

Danny pauses, then decides he’s too tired to fight her.

“He’s so hot it’s infuriating,” he admits. In his year as Kono’s partner, he’s learned that it’s much easier to just give in—she’s like a pit bull with a particularly tasty bone. Which is a great quality to have as a cop, but not so great when it comes to her relentless interest in Danny’s personal life.

“You should ask him out,” Kono says, nodding firmly. “For sure. You need to date more.”

“Are you insane?” Danny says, spreading his hands in incredulity. “There’s no way that guy would be interested—in men in general, in _me_ specifically—because my luck is definitely just not that good.”

“Well, you’ll never know unless you ask!” Kono chirps, but Danny just rolls his eyes. He’s tired and his knee hurts, he has no desire to think any more about Dr. GQ.

* * *

“I’m serious, Danny,” Kono says. “You should ask him out.”

Danny leans forward and thunks his forehead on his desk. It’s been five days since his first appointment with Steve, and Kono will  _not_  let this go.

“Kono—”

“Let’s bet on it,” Kono says, interrupting him.

Danny sits up and narrows his eyes. “What exactly are we betting on here?”

“Okay,” Kono says. She looks way too excited, and that always scares Danny. “If I win, you have to ask him out. But if  _you_  win, I will do all our paperwork for twomonths.”

Danny automatically opens his mouth to say no, but then he pauses. Wow, two months. With the caseload that tends to pile up in their division, that would be a lot of work. 

“What’s the bet?” he asks cautiously. “My options are a little limited here, you know.”

“Easy,” she scoffs. “Rock, paper, scissors.”

“Are you serious?” he says, chuckling. “You’re going to hedge _two months_ of paperwork on a game of rock, paper, scissors?”

“Definitely,” she says.

Danny tilts his head and squints. “I dunno. You seem too confident. Are you cheating? Is there some secret Hawaiian trick to this game that I don’t know?”

“Of course not. Just a regular game,” Kono says, rolling her eyes. “We’ll even get a witness. Hey Meka!”

A couple seconds later Meka pokes his head in Danny’s office. “What’s up guys?”

“Danny and I are betting on rock, paper, scissors. You’re the judge.”

“Sure thing, brah. What are we betting on?”

“Not important,” Danny cuts in smoothly. He is not going to have his love life—or lack thereof—become fodder for office gossip. More so than it already has, that is. “Just be our impartial observer.”

“You got it. On three?”

He counts them down, and Danny throws paper. He grimaces and peeks down with one eye, then tips his head back in defeat when he sees Kono’s scissors. Kono celebrates, doing some sort of weird dance with Meka—who seems excited even though he doesn’t know what they’re betting on—and Danny groans.

“Fuck my life.”


	2. Session Two

“You’re gonna do it, right?”

“Kono,” Danny says through gritted teeth. “This is really—”

“I’m just saying,” Kono says, lifting her hands and leaning back in her seat. “You gotta ask him out. It would be pretty shitty for you to renege on a bet.”

Danny stops with his hand on the car door and sighs, hanging his head. God, he’s not going to be able to get out of this. Kono is terrifying, he’ll freely admit it—he has no idea what she’ll do to him if he chickens out of this, but it’ll undoubtedly be creative and unpleasant in some way. “Well, you’ll just have to wait and see,” he says, with all the bravado he can muster.

Kono laughs, though from the look in her eye she doesn’t quite believe him. Which is probably warranted. “That’s more like it. I’ll be back to pick you up in an hour.”

“Thanks, babe. I should be able to drive again in a few days, when I can actually bend my knee enough to get into the seat,” Danny says, sending a silent prayer up to whoever’s listening that at least it’s his nondominant leg that’s injured.

“No problem, brah. Good luck.”

Danny forces a smile and hobbles out of the car and into the building.

“Hi, Danny,” Mary says as he walks in. At least she looks as wrecked by the early hour as he feels. “Steve should be out in just a couple minutes.”

“Thanks,” Danny says with a nod. He sits down, and then reaches into his pocket eagerly when he hears Grace’s ringtone.

“How’s my Gracie girl this morning?” he says, smiling. Nothing better in the world to distract him from his sore knee and how damn early it is.

“Morning, Danno,” she chirps.

“Are you getting ready for school?”

“Yup, I’m eating breakfast. I wanted to call and say hi.”

“Aw, I’m glad you did. You all ready for that spelling test today?”

“I think so. I went through my flash cards three times last night.”

“Good girl,” he says. He looks up to see Steve standing in the doorway, leaning against the door jamb as if he’s been there for a while. Danny holds up a finger and flashes an apologetic smile.

“I gotta go, monkey, I’m at the doctor,” Danny says into the phone. “Have fun at school, okay? Danno loves you.”

“Love you too, Danno, I’ll talk to you later.”

Danny exhales as he hangs up and slides his phone back into his pocket. “Sorry about that,” he says to Steve.

“No problem,” he says easily. “You ready?”

Danny nods and stands, balancing carefully with his cane.

“No crutches today?”

“I haven’t really been using them the last few days,” Danny says. “I really hate those damn crutches. It’s still sore, but it feels a little more stable.”

Steve nods and gently knocks Danny’s bicep with his elbow as they walk back toward an exam room. “Look at you. No tie.”

“It’s 7:30 in the fucking morning, it’s too early to be professional.”

“Not a morning person, I take it?” Steve says, ushering Danny into the room.

“Not in general. And _particularly_ not when my coffee machine decides to attempt a coup and stop working.”

“Yikes. Was it in cahoots with your hair gel?” he says mildly.

Danny whips his head around to see Steve looking all too innocent, the corners of his mouth twitching.

“What a funny, funny man you are,” Danny grumbles. He automatically lifts a hand to smooth his hair but manages to suppress the urge. “My hair is great. And careful, you’re slipping below Madam Sadist in my rank of physical therapists.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” Steve says, smiling full-out now. “You want a cup of coffee?”

“Wait, really?”

“Sure,” Steve says, heading for the door. “How do you like it?”

“Uh, cream and sugar.”

“You got it. Be back in a sec.”

Danny shifts on the table and frowns—Steve being so nice to him really isn’t helping his crush, which is torturous. Trying to deal with Steve’s hands all over him last week had been a serious exercise in self-control, and part of him is not looking forward to repeating the experience. Yet somehow he can’t wait?

“Here you go,” Steve announces as he walks back in a few minutes later, handing Danny a big mug. He takes a sip—man, for all the things that suck about Hawaii, the coffee sure isn’t one of them—and groans happily, which for some reason makes Steve look a little constipated.

“You’re plying me with coffee, and I don’t even care,” Danny says, and Steve grins. God, he’s so handsome it should be illegal.

“Just lulling you into a false sense of security, that’s all,” Steve says as he adjusts the table so Danny can sit up more comfortably. “How are those exercises going?”

“Not too bad,” Danny says. “Getting a little easier, I think.”

“Good, then show me,” Steve says, crossing his arms. Danny only allows his eyes to skitter over that chest and those biceps for half a second. Two seconds, tops.

“Taskmaster,” he says under his breath.

“Hey, I gave you coffee,” Steve says with a shrug. “I’m back on your good side now.”

“Thin ice, my friend,” Danny says. “Tread carefully.”

“Sure,” Steve says, smirking. “So was that your daughter? On the phone?”

“Yeah,” Danny says, unable to stop himself from smiling softly. “Grace.”

“How old is she?”

“Ten. Do you have kids?”

“No,” Steve says with a chuckle. “I like them, though. When I was getting my PT degree I lived next door to a family that had two kids, and I ended up babysitting a lot.”

“Grace is the best,” Danny says, unsure of how to bring up the fact that he’s divorced. “I only wish I got to see her more.”

Steve tilts his head, and Danny shouldn’t find that crinkle between his eyebrows to be so damn attractive. “Why? Because of your job?”

“Shared custody,” Danny clarifies. “With my ex.”

“Ah,” Steve says, nodding. “I’m sorry.”

Danny shrugs. “S’ok, I guess—well, I’m used to it, anyway. You married?”

“Nope,” Steve answers. Danny pauses and doesn’t respond right away, but Steve doesn’t reveal any more information.

“I can tell you’re trying to distract me,” Danny says as he winces and switches to the second exercise.

“A magician never reveals his secrets.”

“A magician! Wow, you think pretty highly of yourself, huh?”

“Well, let’s just see how you feel after these 10 weeks.”

Danny snorts—if he has this big of a crush after about a week, he doesn’t even want to know what it’s going to look like after 10. Steve probably wasn’t talking about that, though.

“Speaking of that phone call, who’s Danno?”

Danny narrows his eyes at him and scowls. “That, my friend, is none of your business.”

“All right, all right,” Steve says, lifting his hands. “Forget I asked. And come on, let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” he asks as he carefully stands up again, but Steve doesn’t answer. Danny follows him out the door and down a separate hallway that opens into a large room. His eyes widen, and he stops. “Wow.”

Steve, a couple paces ahead of him, stops also and turns around. “What?”

“I just didn’t see this part before,” Danny says. “It’s nice.”

Nice is an understatement—the main part of the facility is one huge room with two large, garage-type doors at one end that are currently rolled up, opening right onto a large swath of beach. The space is airy and bright, with various types of equipment scattered around, and even Danny can admit that the muted roar of the waves is soothing.

“Thanks,” Steve says, smiling softly.

Steve works him through a few more exercises—including a complicated one involving a resistance band that Danny definitely won’t remember how to do—and then all of a sudden they’re done. And Danny still hasn’t lived up to his end of the bet, which makes him grimace. He can _hear_ Kono in his head, and she sounds pissed.

Steve’s already said his goodbye and is heading for the door, but Danny calls out after him and clenches his eyes shut.

* * *

“Wait, Steve,” Danny says.

Steve turns to see Danny standing there, shifting his weight and fiddling with his cane. “Yeah?”

“Do you, uh, do you wanna get a drink sometime?”

Steve’s heart leaps in his chest—to be more accurate, he barely manages to stop himself from cartwheeling across the room in delight—and then immediately plummets. Shit, Danny is his patient, and 10 weeks is a fucking long time to wait.

“I don’t date patients,” he says with a wince. He’s about to add to that sentence, maybe something about what he would like to happen _after_  their sessions, when Danny shakes his head frantically, eyes wide.

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean as a, uh,  _date_ ,” he says, and he looks more than a little flustered, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I haven’t lived here that long, I was thinking more of a—like a friend thing.”

“Oh fuck, sorry,” Steve says, cursing the flush he can feel on his face and trying to temper the intense disappointment coursing through him. At least Danny only looks a little embarrassed, not pissed off or disgusted that Steve interpreted the question in a romantic way. “It’s, um, it’s come up before.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Danny says dryly, and Steve blushes harder.

“But yeah, we can definitely do that,” Steve says, and he’s maybe more proud than he should be that his voice doesn’t waver.

“Okay,” Danny says, nodding quickly. “I’m just gonna—uh, go, but that sounds good.”

“I’ll see you next week!” Steve calls out after him, then immediately grimaces. God, how desperate can he get.

He watches Danny leave and then slinks back to his office. That had been a really thrilling six seconds or so when he thought Danny might be interested in him. The tiny optimistic corner of Steve’s heart had been jumping up and down for the past week, pointing out that Danny’s looks maybe lingered a little more than a straight guy’s normally would for his male doctor and that might mean something.

But—obviously not.

Steve sees movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turns his gaze to his window, which overlooks the parking lot. Speak of the devil, there’s Danny, being helped into a car by a very lovely lady, presumably his girlfriend.

Goddamn. Definitely straight then.

* * *

A few days later, Steve decides to take a detour through the part near the beach on his way back from the bank. He’s enjoying how nice the late afternoon sun looks against the water, so much so that he doesn’t see the young girl running toward him, her head tipped back to look at the sky, until they smack into each other. Steve stumbles but manages to catch himself and swoop the girl up before she falls to the ground.

“Whoa, there,” Steve says, setting her back on her feet.

“I’m so sorry!” the girl says, brushing her dark hair out of her face, and man, she’s cute with that lower lip sticking out.

“Oh, it’s fine, sweetie. Are you okay?”

“Grace!”

Steve startles at the familiar voice and turns to see Danny limping over toward them. Wow, is this his daughter?

“Steve,” Danny says in surprise as he reaches them. He’s accompanied by the same woman Steve saw him with after his appointment. Fuck, for sure a girlfriend.

“Do you know him, Danno?” Grace says, her eyes swiveling among the adults. “I wasn’t looking where I was going, and I tripped, but I said I was sorry!”

“Gracie, this is Steve,” Danny says, draping his arm around her shoulders. “He’s the doctor helping me with my knee.”

“Hi, Grace,” Steve says, squatting down next to her and shaking her small hand, which disappears in his. “I’ve heard a lot about you from your dad.”

“He talks a lot about you, too,” Grace says, and Steve smiles as he straightens up. The girlfriend bursts out laughing, while Danny just frowns.

“Well, gotta have someone to complain to, you know?” Danny says, shrugging. “Oh, this is Kono.”

Steve plasters a wide smile on his face and leans forward to shake her hand. She’s young and beautiful and local—good for Danny.

“Hi, Steve,” she says, and goddamn her grip is strong. “It’s great to finally meet you.”

“Oh, does he complain about me to you, too?” Steve asks. She laughs and elbows Danny in the side.

“All day. How lucky am I, right?” she says, and Danny rolls his eyes. 

“God, look at all the abuse I have to put up with,” he says, but he’s smiling, and Steve laughs weakly.

Then all of a sudden Kono brightens considerably. “Hey, we were about to get some shave ice. Wanna join us?”

She and Danny have a quick, hushed conversation in clipped tones, and Steve feels awkward, like maybe he’s interrupting a date or something. But then Danny turns to him with those twinkling eyes and spreads his arms wide. “You like shave ice?”

“I could probably go for that,” Steve admits.

“Great!” Kono says, clapping her hands. “Grace, why don’t you come with me? We’ll let the boys find a place for us to sit.”

Grace nods and turns to Steve. “What flavor would you like?”

“I’m guessing you’re a shave ice expert. What would you recommend?”

“I always get pineapple,” she says confidently, and Steve smiles.

“I will take your suggestion then, pineapple sounds great.”

He reaches for his wallet, but Kono’s hand on his arm stops him. “No worries, brah.”

He nods at her and watches as the two girls make their way to the shave ice stand on the other side of the park. He turns his gaze to Danny, who gestures at a set of picnic tables behind him.

“Sorry for, uh, corrupting your afternoon,” Danny says, rocking back on his heels with his hands in his pockets. “I’m sure you, you know, have things to do.”

“No, not really,” Steve says. “Sorry that I, uh, almost trampled Grace.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Danny says with a laugh. “At least you didn’t let her fall, then I’d have to punch you or something.”

Danny takes a seat and Steve carefully sits across from him as they wait for the girls to return. To his surprise, Grace clambers right up on the bench next to him, leaving Kono to sit next to Danny.

“I got cherry for you, Danno,” Grace says, pushing a cup toward him, and Danny smiles.

“Thanks, monkey.”

“This pineapple was a good choice, Grace, thank you,” Steve says.

“Pineapple is definitely the smartest choice,” Kono says, flashing her dimples when Danny rolls his eyes.

“When I’m at the beach I only want pineapple,” Grace says.

“Speaking of the beach, I think this is the closest I’ve seen Danny to one in a while,” Kono says.

Steve raises an eyebrow, and Grace pipes in. “Danno doesn’t like the beach,” she says seriously.

“Oh, really?”

“No, he does not,” Danny says.

“And why is that?”

Danny huffs out a laugh and starts enumerating reasons on his fingers. “Sand, skin cancer, jellyfish, _sand_. Shall I go on?”

“So then you must be a big surfer, right?” Steve says dryly.

“Yeah, I leave that to these two,” he says, gesturing between Kono and Grace. “I prefer to watch from a far, safe distance.”

“Every once in a while we can drag him into the water,” Kono says. “Not very often, though.”

“Oh, so you don’t know how to swim then?”

Danny snorts. “I swim for survival, not for fun.”

“I don’t know if I believe you,” Steve says, tilting his head, and Grace laughs.

“All right, I’m off,” Kono says, standing. She bends down to whisper something in Danny’s ear that makes him blush all the way up to his hairline, and Steve quickly averts his gaze—he feels uncomfortable witnessing something so intimate.

“Bye, Kono!” Grace says. She stands as well and wraps her arms around Kono’s waist, looking up at her adoringly. “Are you still coming over for dinner this weekend?”

“I sure am,” Kono says. “Bye, sweetie.”

Steve forces himself to admit that it’s nice that they’re clearly so close. Must be a pretty serious relationship, then.

“Danno, can Steve come play with me on the playground?” Grace asks, and Steve hides his smile when that lower lip comes back out—how can Danny ever possibly say no to her? 

“Only if Steve wants to, monkey, he might have to go,” Danny says, shooting a rueful smile toward him.

Steve tilts his head and looks down at Grace, pretending to consider. “I’ll race you.”

Grace squeals and takes off, Steve hot on her heels. He lets her reach the playground edge about two steps ahead of him, then he scoops her up and deposits her on the monkey bars.

“Can we swing?” Grace asks after a few minutes.

“Of course we can swing,” Steve says. “I haven’t been on a swing in a long time, though.”

“Oh, it’s okay, I’ll show you,” Grace says confidently, and Steve smiles.

He dutifully takes instruction from Grace on the best way to get really high on the swing, and soon they’re swinging away.

“Is Danno gonna be okay?”

“You mean with his knee?” Steve asks, and Grace nods. “Oh, he’s going to be fine.  We just gotta make sure he’s strong again.”

“So he can take care of the bad guys, right?”

“Exactly right.”

“He says you make him do things that hurt. And he says bad words sometimes when he does them.”

Steve laughs. “You have homework at school, right? Well, this is Danno’s homework from me. It helps his knee.”

“He makes me do my homework, so I can make him do his, too.”

* * *

Eventually they make their way back to Danny. Grace has some dirt smudged on her arms and her face, but her dress is still pretty clean so Steve figures he did okay.

“Did you two have fun terrorizing the playground?”

“She tells me you do your exercises,” Steve says. “Though sometimes you say bad words.”

“Oh, now you’ve got my daughter spying for you?” Danny asks, poking his lower lip out. “That’s great, just great.”

“You can do that for me, right, Grace?” Steve says, and she nods up at him happily. “Make sure he keeps up with his exercises.”

“I will, I promise,” she says. “Danno, you have to do the exercises to help your knee get better.”

“So where does the nickname Danno come from?” Steve asks, turning to Grace.

“When I was little, all I could say was Danno,” Grace says, looking up at him. “And it stuck.”

“It’s cute,” Steve says, smirking at Danny.

“Don’t you go getting any ideas, mister,” Danny says, pointing sternly at Steve. “Grace is the only one to call me that.”

“Oh, it’s okay, Daddy,” Grace says as she pats his arm. “Steve can call you Danno. I like him, I can share my nickname with him.”

“Thank you, Grace, that’s very nice of you.” Steve says, bowing slightly. He stifles a laugh at how befuddled Danny looks, swinging his gaze between Steve and Grace.

“I—uh, okay,” he finally says, shaking his head. “Say thank you to Steve, Grace.”

“Thank you for playing with me,” she says, and she startles Steve when she flings her arms around his waist.

He gingerly brings his arms up to return the hug. “You’re welcome. Bye, Grace.”

“Thanks, Steve,” Danny says with a grateful smile. “I’ll see you next week.”

“Bye, Danno,” Steve calls out after them, grinning like a loon when Danny glares at him over Grace’s head.


	3. Session Three

“Morning, Steve,” Mary says. She stifles a yawn and props her chin on her hand.

“Here, I have something that might help,” he says with a laugh, holding out a mug of coffee.

“Mmm,” Mary says blearily. “It’s unnatural that you look so awake at this hour. If that’s genetic, why didn’t I get it?”

“Exercising in the morning helps,” he says, but Mary only growls at him and uses the end of her pen to poke at his thigh where he’s perched himself on her desk.

“You and your endorphins, shut up. You have Danny this morning, right?”

Steve wrinkles his nose. “Don’t remind me.”

“What? Are you afraid it’s going to be awkward?”

“Oh, you mean after how I interpreted his friendly invitation as a date/come-on? No, that’s not going to be awkward at all,” Steve says dryly.

“You said it was okay, though,” Mary says, sipping happily at her coffee, “when you ran into him and his daughter the other day.”

“Yeah, but there were other people around.”

“It’ll be fine,” Mary says. “Just pretend it didn’t happen. Or I could beat him up for you.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “I’m good, thanks. Though that’s quite a 180 from when you said _you_ wanted to date him.”

“Oh, come on, I wouldn’t actually do that. Plus, you said he has a girlfriend.”

“Yeah,” Steve says with a sigh. “Just send him back when he gets here, okay?”

Steve wanders back to the main room, mindlessly moving things around and saying hello to a couple of the other therapists who are also in early. Eventually he hears somebody clearing his throat, and he turns to see Danny standing there, leaning on his cane.

“Hi.”

“Hey there, Danno.”

Danny scowls and shakes his head but doesn’t say anything about Steve’s use of the nickname, so he figures that he’s in the clear.

“Sorry again for the other day,” Danny says. “When Grace gets her claws into someone, she doesn’t let go easily. And for some reason—who knows, really—she likes you, so…yeah. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Steve says with a smile. Seeing Danny as a father, with all of his rough edges smoothed down by the presence of Grace, had been a new experience in and of itself. “She’s great.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“Okay, you ready?”

“Let’s do it.”

* * *

Danny tugs at the knot of his tie as he tries to take a deep breath. He’s happy for Chin—he really is, so much, he and Malia are great together—but this is the first wedding he’s been to since his own marriage imploded, and he’s feeling a little antsy about it. The ceremony hasn’t even started yet, but he’s ready for it to be over.

In search of a distraction, Danny scans the crowd, as a cop is wont to do, and lets his eyes linger on a tall, dark-haired man with his back to him. He appears to be wearing a military uniform of some kind, and Danny is in the middle of examining the nice view of those tight trousers when he catches himself and groans. It seems like his little crush on Steve is awakening his interest in men everywhere—fuck, Steve really is complicating his life.

“Danny!”

Danny drags his eyes away from that ass and whirls around to see Kono, looking beautiful as ever in a blue and yellow dress with her hair up. “Aw,” he says, groaning. “You couldn’t have left some pretty for the rest of us? Had to take it all for yourself?”

“Such a charmer, Williams,” she says as she leans in to kiss his cheek. “How are you doing?”

“Me?” Danny says with a scoff, pointing to himself. “I’m great, just peachy, ready to get this show on the road.”

“Whatever you say, brah,” Kono says knowingly. “Let’s go find a seat, I think it’s about to start.”

* * *

“Steve!”

Steve turns on his heel to see Mary coming through the crowd toward him, and he opens his arm to tug her under his shoulder.

“Hey, Mare,” he says, giving her a squeeze. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” she says with a chuckle as she pulls away, looking down at her dress. “Malia actually picked out a nice bridesmaid’s dress, who knew they even existed.”

“Well, that was very kind of her.”

“And you brought out the dress blues, huh?” 

“Special occasion,” Steve says with a smirk.

“Mhmm,” Mary says knowingly. “Sure. You know, at the bachelorette party last weekend I met one of Malia’s friends from med school. She’s single, blonde, very beautiful—I can introduce you.”

“Eh, I don’t know,” he says, wrinkling his nose.

“So you’re still hung up on Danny, huh?”

Steve huffs out a sigh and scowls. “No. Well, I’m trying not to be, anyway.”

“How was your appointment, anyway? We were so busy I didn’t get a chance to ask.”

“Oh, it was fine,” Steve says. “Seemed pretty normal, anyway. I’m just tired of feeling like a teenage girl with a stupid crush.”

“As someone who once was a teenage girl, I’m going to try not to take offense to that. But Steve, it’s his loss. I mean, you are my brother and this is hard to admit, but you’re a pretty good catch. So let me introduce you to Jane.”

“Fine. Maybe. No promises.”

“I’ll take it. Come on, let’s go watch our friends get married.”

* * *

Danny kinda zones out for parts of the ceremony—it’s hard to hear those vows without thinking back to his own—but overall he thinks it’s very nice, even with the bright sun and all the sand everywhere. Chin and Malia look thrilled, and as a bonus, his tie feels slightly less like it’s trying to strangle him. Eventually it’s over, and he snaps out of it when Kono pokes at his arm.

“Come on,” she says. “Let’s go find some alcohol.”

“That, babe, is a _fantastic_ idea,” he says, letting her haul him to his feet. “Lead the way, please.”

They fight their way through the crowd at the bar and finally manage to snag two beers before retreating to a corner.

“So are you going to engage in the time-honored tradition of hooking up at a wedding?” Kono asks, her eyebrows waggling.

Danny huffs out a laugh. “Knowing my luck, I’d end up with another Kelly-Kalakaua cousin, and then you and Chin would _both_ kill me.”

Kono smiles and lifts a delicate shoulder in a shrug. “I could probably find a nice girl for you. Or, you know, a dude, if that’s how things are going right now,” she says with a wink, and Danny groans.

“No, thank you,” he says. “I’m sure you’d hook me up with someone crazy, just out of spite.”

Something catches Danny’s eye, and he swivels his head to see Chin standing a few yards away from them, busy talking to the military guy that Danny saw earlier.

“C’mon,” he says, not taking his eyes off them as he tugs on Kono’s arm. “Let’s go say hi to Chin.”

“What a coincidence,” she says dryly as she follows him, and _fuck_ , she doesn’t miss anything. “Looks like there’s a cute guy standing next to him.”

“Shut up,” Danny hisses.

The guy turns around as they approach, and Danny’s eyes widen as he tries not to swallow his tongue. “Steve?”

“Danny?”

He tries desperately to drag his eyes from Steve, who looks as surprised to see him as Danny is. And who also looks _really_ nice in whatever that uniform is that he’s wearing.

“Wait,” Chin says, spreading his hands. “How do you know Steve?”

“How do  _you_  know Steve?” Kono turns to Chin. “I just met him the other day.”

“It’s Steve McGarrett! John’s son. We were friends back in the day, but I guess you were too young to remember.” 

“And he’s my physical therapist,” Danny says, pointing at Steve.

The  _ohh_ is loud, the four voices in a chorus.

“I’m guessing you two know each other from HPD,” Steve says, indicating to Danny and Chin, and they both nod.

“Plus, Chin is my cousin,” Kono adds.

“Well, this is all a fun coincidence,” Chin says. “How’s your PT going, anyway?”

“He’s doing great,” Steve chimes in. “Right on track.”

“So great that I can no longer speak for myself, apparently,” Danny says, elbowing Steve gently. “I mean, this guy is evil and crazy, but beyond that it’s good, I guess.”

Chin turns at the sound of his name being called from across the room and winces. “Gotta go say hi to great-uncle Keoki. Wanna come with, Kono?”

“Oh, no,” Kono says, draping her arm around Danny and giving Chin a shit-eating grin. “Gotta hang out with my friends here.”

“Just wait til you get married,” Chin says under his breath as he starts to step away.

“Hey,” Danny says, reaching to shake Chin’s hand because he hasn’t forgotten his manners. “Congrats, man. I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Chin says, beaming. “Enjoy the open bar.”

“Oh, we will.”

* * *

“So the tie is back,” Steve says, and Kono laughs. Thoroughly enjoying himself, Steve takes a sip of his drink and grins at Danny. They got their hands on several beers and have commandeered a tall table in the back of the room.

“I’ve been on him about that for _ever_ ,” she says, rolling her eyes in a commiserating gesture toward Steve. “So I don’t think he’s going to change anytime soon.”

“This is a wedding!” Danny says, gesturing wildly. “Come on, you guys cannot make fun of me for wearing a tie to a wedding. This is a formal occasion.”

“I’m surprised you aren’t wearing a jacket,” Kono says.

“I left it in the car,” Danny admits, and they both laugh. He then points at Steve accusingly. “And you’re wearing a tie!”

“Yes, but this is part of my uniform,” Steve says smugly, smoothing his own tie. “Look around, most of the guys here aren’t wearing ties.”

“Ugh. Animals, all of you,” he says mulishly, taking a long gulp from his drink. “Is this better?”

He sets his beer on the table, slides one finger into the knot of his tie, and Steve’s heart skips a beat as the world seems to slow. Danny’s deft fingers loosen the tie so the knot hangs halfway down his chest, then he unravels the knot completely. The silk—Steve’s assuming it’s silk, anyway—slithers out from under his collar as Danny tugs on it, and he folds the tie carefully before slipping it into his pocket. To add insult to injury, he swiftly undoes the top two buttons of his shirt, giving Steve the tiniest tantalizing glimpse of chest hair.

Steve startles as someone near them sets their glass down hard, making the ice rattle, and the world jumps back to normal speed. His mouth is suddenly so dry that he needs to take a drink. He also needs a distraction. And to not stand up for a while. He has a lot of needs, okay?

Steve opens his mouth to reply, but nothing comes out. Thankfully Kono jumps in and pats Danny on the arm. “Much better, brah.”

“You are all crazy,” Danny says. “I miss being in a place where it’s _normal_ to wear a tie to a wedding.”

“You know, for how much you seem to dislike Hawaii, you really went _kama’aina_ in your choice of girlfriends,” Steve says, gesturing at them with his beer bottle. “How long have the two of you been together, anyway?”

Wait, why are they both staring at him like that?

Kono is the first one to crack, almost falling off her chair in hysterics, and Danny soon follows. “Oh, we’re not dating,” he says through his hearty chuckles. “We’re partners. At HPD.”

Steve blinks. And then blinks again, as part of his world rearranges itself. “Oh,” he says dumbly. “Sorry, you guys seemed—”

“He’s too pretty for me, anyway,” Kono says, grinning. Danny rolls his eyes, but Steve can’t help but notice that his cheeks definitely pink up a little bit.

“And I’m about 10 years too old,” Danny shoots back. “Plus, I’ve seen Chin with a shotgun, and I know how protective he is over his family. So no thank you.”

“Well, now that I don’t have this ball-and-chain,” Kono says, standing up and poking Danny in the shoulder, “I’m going to go find someone to buy me a drink.”

“It’s an open bar!” Danny calls after her, but she just waves dismissively over her shoulder as she saunters away. He turns to Steve, grinning as he tips his bottle up to finish his beer. “So you really thought we were together?”

Steve can feel his face flush but knows he can blame it on the alcohol. “It’s an easy assumption! You two are close.”

“Oh, we are. Kono’s the best, and she’s a great partner. Plus, Grace loves her. But yeah, just friends. For sure.”

“Okay,” Steve says finally, with a nod.

“And speaking of things we didn’t know…apparently you’re some kind of soldier.”

“Whoa,” Steve says, raising his hands. “Sailor—I was in the Navy.”

“Oops,” Danny says, not sounding repentant in the least. “So I should be calling you Captain Steve then?”

“It’s Lieutenant McGarrett, actually,” Steve says, the corner of his mouth quirking up, “if you wanna be all formal about it.”

“So then how did you get from this guy,” Danny says, gesturing to incorporate Steve’s whole persona, “to the guy who tortures me on a weekly basis?”

“Well,” Steve says. He’s not sure how much detail to go into here. “To make a long story short, I was in the Navy, got injured, had to retire, then went to PT school. And now I’m here.”

“Wow, that is the short version,” Danny says with a smile. “How long were you in the Navy?”

“Since I was 18—I went to Annapolis.”

“Very impressive,” Danny says.

“Danny!”

They both turn to see two guys in suits standing by the bar, gesturing at Danny.

“Aw, shit,” Danny says with a sigh as he stands. “Those are HPD guys, I think they want all of us to do shots. I should go. I’ll see you later, though?”

“Sure thing,” Steve says, smiling up at Danny and relishing in the feel of his warm hand on his shoulder.

* * *

“Damn, Steve does look good in that uniform,” Kono says, tilting her head.

Danny folds his arms on the table and rests his head on top of them. “Please don’t have sex with him,” he says, muffled. “I don’t think I could take it.”

“Oh, relax,” Kono says with a laugh. “It’s strange—it really seems like he likes you.”

“Yeah, well,” Danny says as he raises his head just a little to take a sip of his scotch and soda through the straw. “Maybe he’s just friendly.”

“Wait,” Kono says, spreading her hands. “What exactly did Steve say when you asked him out?”

“What? Why?”

“I’m just curious. What did he say?”

“He said he doesn’t date patients.”

Kono smiles triumphantly, though Danny is thoroughly confused. “What? Why do you look so happy?”

“Because,” she says, looking bored at Danny’s stupidity, “he didn’t actually say no. If he were actually straight, don’t you think his first reaction would have been ‘I’m not gay’ or ‘I’m not interested’?”

“Maybe he’s just…evolved?” Kono rolls her eyes, so Danny continues. “But he hasn’t shown any interest.”

“Okay, first of all,” Kono says, pointing at him, and Danny idly wonders how much she’s had to drink. Or maybe he should be wondering about how many drinks he’s had? “I think it’s been established that you suck at picking up signs. It took you an embarrassingly long time to realize that Rachel actually hit your car on purpose.”

Danny opens his mouth, but he can’t really find a comeback for that one. “Shut up.”

“And second, he thought we were together. I’m telling you, Danny, I’m right.”

Danny twists his mouth. “I don’t know if I can actually get optimistic about semantics.”

“I can talk to Chin,” Kono says, but Danny’s shaking his head before the words are even out of her mouth.

“No, no, no,” he says, pressing down on the table with his hands. “We are not dragging more people into this. And also, oh yeah, we aren’t in high school! No thanks.”

“Valid point,” Kono admits.

Danny looks past Kono’s shoulder and grimaces. “Oh, shit.”

“What?” she hisses, craning her head around to see behind her. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Danny says with a snort. “Looks like your theory has some holes.”

There’s Steve, looking cozy and very intimate with his arm slung over the shoulders of a bridesmaid. They shift slightly, moving into a full hug, and Danny muffles a gasp as he lists closer to Kono. “That’s Mary, she’s the receptionist at his clinic.”

“Yikes,” Kono mutters. “They do look close.”

“God, it makes so much sense.”

“What do you mean?” Kono asks, throwing back the last of her beer.

“When I had my appointment this week, she was acting kinda weird. Maybe Steve told her that I asked him out and she was pissed.”

“But you said that you turned it into a friend thing.”

“Yeah, but maybe he could tell that I was lying,” Danny says, with a wry twist to his mouth.

* * *

Steve is officially bored. The reception is winding down, and he’s wondering if it’s appropriate for him to slip out. But then he spots Danny winding his way through the crowd, and he brightens.

“Danno?” Steve says, reaching out to touch his elbow. “Want another drink?”

“Uh, I gotta go, actually,” Danny says as he twists out of Steve’s grip, avoiding his gaze. “Have fun with your bridesmaid, I’ll see you next week.”

Steve frowns. What? Jane? He’d barely talked to her, just the bare minimum so that Mary wouldn’t yell at him about it. And why would Danny care? But before he can figure out what to say, he’s watching Danny slip out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two quick notes:
> 
> I definitely realize that a retired Naval officer probably wouldn’t wear a uniform to a civilian wedding. BUT…who can resist Steve in his dress blues? No one, that’s who.
> 
> A few lines in here are similar to some in [Before it Began](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4941631). That’s because I was writing this chapter when I got the idea for that story!


	4. Session Four

Steve only catches a blurred glimpse of dark hair running at him before he’s being wrapped in a vigorous hug.

“Steve!”

“Grace!” he says in surprise, lifting his arms to wrap around her shoulders.

“Hi there.”

Steve raises his head to see Danny hobbling into the office a little more slowly, with a small smile on his face. “Hey, Danno,” he says warmly before returning his attention to Grace. “To what do I owe this pleasure of your visit, my dear?”

Grace giggles and tightens her grip on Steve’s waist. “My mommy is sick.”

“Yikes, is she okay?”

“Just a cold, I think,” Danny interjects. “I’m sorry to spring this on you, Steve. I got Grace last night unexpectedly but didn’t want to cancel this. I figured we could fit it in before I take her to school.”

“Not a problem at all,” Steve says honestly. “You wanna help me out, Grace?”

“Yes!” she exclaims. “I’ve been making sure that Danno does his exercises, just like you told me to.”

“Oh yeah, she’s a real slave driver,” Danny says, reaching out to gently tug on Grace’s braid. “Even when she’s at her mom’s, she calls me to make sure I’ve done them.”

“Good girl. Let’s show him some new ones, okay?”

Grace nods, and Steve leads her into the main room.

“Wow!” she says, running over to the far edge where the doors are open to the sand. “This is so cool.”

“It is cool, huh?” Steve says. “I love that I get to look at the beach all day.”

“Oh really?” Danny says. “So I have to deal with all this sand just because it’s your preference?”

“Okay, first of all, you have never set foot in that sand, so I don’t think you get to complain,” Steve says, nudging at Danny’s shoulder. “And it’s not just for me. Sand is a great unstable surface, so we do a lot of work with our patients out there.”

“Ugh,” Danny says, frowning dramatically, and Steve and Grace both laugh. “You’re not going to make me do that, are you?”

“Maybe as punishment sometime. Not today, though.”

Steve gestures for Danny to hop up on a table at the edge of the room, and then he pulls over two rolling stools, offering one to Grace.

“You’re a doctor, right?” Grace asks, tilting her head. “Sometimes I think I want to be a doctor.”

“I am a doctor,” Steve says with a nod. “I’m not a medical doctor, though, which means I don’t help people who are sick. Instead, I work with people who have gotten hurt somehow.”

“Like what kind of people?”

“Well, I see a lot of athletes and people in the military who have been injured. And people like your dad, of course.”

“So what happened to Danno’s knee?”

“He tore a small ligament right about here,” Steve says, pressing gently on the inside of Danny’s knee.

“Ouch,” Grace says, wrinkling her nose. “Did it hurt?”

“Yes, it hurt a lot,” Danny says. “Danno said a lot of bad words.”

Steve laughs at the scowl on Grace’s face. “I bet that would have been a lot of money for the swear jar,” she says.

“Yes, it would have,” Danny says with a smile. “So I’m glad you weren’t there.”

“And is it getting better?” Grace asks.

“It sure is. Danno, show her that exercise from last week,” Steve says, and Danny dutifully lays back to show off the improved flexibility in his knee. “See, Grace? It’s already looking a lot stronger than it was just a couple weeks ago.”

He takes Danny through several of the other exercises they had been doing before asking him to get down off the table. Steve anchors a resistance band to the base of a post and crouches to wrap the loop around Danny’s ankle. “Step out so you have a little bit of tension, then slowly raise your leg, keeping it straight. Yeah, just like that.”

“What does that do?” Grace asks, watching intently.

“This strengthens the quadriceps muscle—the big one on the front of your thigh here,” Steve says, pointing it out on himself. “And this next one is for the hamstring, which is on the back of your leg. Now Danny, you’re going to turn around and do it the other way. Face the post and slowly bring your heel up toward your butt, until you can feel it in your knee. And as it gets easier, you can step farther away from the post to give the band more tension.”

“Does it hurt, Danno?”

“Not really, monkey,” Danny says as he switches over to the quad exercise again. “It’s just a little uncomfortable. Steve, do I need to get one of these band things?”

“Yes, these are good to do at home. I can lend you one.”

Danny’s phone rings suddenly, and he bites off a muffled curse when he pulls it out of his pocket and looks at the display. “Man, I should really get this. Hang on just a sec.”

Danny disentangles himself from the resistance band and limps off to the other side of the room, answering the phone quietly as he does so. Steve keeps an eye on Danny and tries to monitor his reaction, but Grace taps at his arm.

“Can I try, Steve?” she asks.

“Sure,” he says with a laugh, kneeling down to help spot her. “Come put your foot right through here.”

Steve helps Grace through the two exercises, but then Danny peers back around the corner, catches Steve’s eye, and jerks his head.

“Just a sec, Gracie, I’ll be right back,” Steve says to her before getting to his feet and walking over to Danny, who looks rattled. “What’s up?”

“It’s Kono,” Danny says, through gritted teeth. “She got shot.”

“Oh, fuck,” Steve exhales. “Is she okay?”

“Um, they think so. That was Chin on the phone, she’s on her way to the hospital and might need surgery. I really should...damn it, Grace. I, uh—”

“Danny,” Steve interrupts, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Let me take Grace to school so you can go straight to the hospital.”

Danny inhales sharply but then shakes his head. “Oh, c’mon, I can’t ask you to do that.”

“Please,” Steve says quietly. “Come on, let me help. I don’t have another patient til after 11, anyway.”

Danny hesitates, scratching at his chin and looking Steve right in the eye. “Okay,” he says finally. “You sure?”

“Definitely.”

Danny nods and leads them back over to where Grace is waiting. “Hey, monkey,” he says, smoothing his hand over her hair. “Would you be okay if Steve took you to school?”

“Yeah!” she says, but then her face falls nearly as quickly as it lit up. “Is something wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, sweetie,” Danny says, darting a look at Steve. “I just need to take care of some important work stuff that came up.”

“Okay,” Grace says, easily mollified. She swings her gaze to Steve. “I go to Sacred Hearts, and I have to be there at 8:15.”

“Great, I know exactly where that is.”

“Bye, monkey, I gotta go,” Danny says, bending down to kiss her on top of her head. “I’ll talk to you after school. Be good for Steve, okay?”

Grace just rolls her eyes, and Steve tries to hide a smile.

Danny straightens up and beckons Steve closer. “I’ll tell her—later,” he says lowly. “She loves Kono, I don’t want her to worry.”

“You got it,” Steve says. 

“And uh, thank you,” Danny says, thrusting his hand out, and Steve shakes it firmly before watching him walk out of the building.

“I’m a little bit hungry,” Grace confesses, looking up at Steve.

“No problem,” he says. “We’ve got some snacks in the kitchen, and I think we have enough time. How do you feel about toast?”

“Hmm. Do you have peanut butter?” Grace asks, tilting her head.

“Do I have peanut butter?” Steve asks, full of false incredulity, and Grace laughs.

“Yes please, then.” 

“You got it, Grace Face, let’s go.”

Steve takes her into the kitchen and quickly toasts a piece of bread, slathering it with a thick layer of peanut butter.

“Well, hi there,” Mary says as she enters the kitchen, shooting Steve an amused smile.

“This is Grace—Danny’s daughter,” Steve says, and Grace smiles at her politely as she continues to eat her toast. “Grace, this is my sister, Mary. She works here, too.”

“Hi Grace, it’s nice to meet you,” Mary says. “Where’s Danny?”

“He had to leave a few minutes ago, just a little work emergency,” Steve says smoothly. “And we’ve got to get you off to school. You ready, Grace?”

She swallows her last big bite and nods. “Yes! Thank you.”

“Why don’t you grab your bag, and I’ll meet you in the front in just a sec,” Steve says as he takes the plate from her, and Grace nods.

“It was nice to meet you,” she says to Mary before scampering out toward the main room.

Steve washes the plate a little more thoroughly than is really necessary, trying to ignore the feel of Mary’s gaze on his back.

“You’re taking her to _school_?”

Steve turns around, takes in Mary’s surprised look, and heads for the door. “Yes, I am,” he says, deciding that plain indifference is the way to go. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Nope, no problem at all,” Mary says, and if she thinks she’s hiding her smile behind her coffee mug, she could be doing a better job of it.

“Well then I’ll see you later. I’ll be back for my 11:15.”

Grace is waiting patiently by the front door, and Steve playfully tugs on the top handle of her backpack as they walk outside, making her stagger and giggle. He helps her up into his truck, and they set off toward her school.

“So what grade are you in? Fifth?”

“Yup!” Grace chirps.

“And what’s your favorite subject?”

“Hmm,” Grace says, looking up as she thinks. “Probably science. We’re in the middle of a project on Hawaiian sea life, and that’s pretty fun.”

“Very cool. Science was my favorite, too.”

“Really?” Grace asks. “Some of the other girls say it’s nerdy.”

“Being a nerd is cool,” Steve says firmly, and Grace laughs. “So then what’s your favorite thing to do _outside_ of school?”

“Surfing!” Grace says, fidgeting in her seat. “Danno is finally letting me take lessons with Kono.”

“That sounds fun, I bet Kono’s a great teacher,” Steve says. “I swim every day, but I only surf sometimes.”

“Wow, every day? I wish I could swim every day.”

“I am very lucky because I actually live on the beach, so I swim in the mornings before I go to work.”

“Really?” Grace screeches, and Steve laughs.

“Really,” he confirms.

“That is _so_ cool,” she says, in that breathless way that only a ten-year-old can achieve.

“You and Danno should come over sometime,” Steve says. “The waves aren’t that good for surfing, but it’s pretty fun to swim without dealing with a crowded beach.”

“That would be fun, I’ll talk to Danno,” Grace promises. She perks up and points off toward a side street. “We’re here! You can turn in over there.”

Steve does as instructed and pulls into the line of cars waiting for drop-off. “Have a good day, Grace.”

“Thanks for taking me, Steve!” Grace says, waving through the window after she jumps out, and Steve smiles and waves back at her.

He watches closely until Grace is safely through the front doors, and then he pulls out of the parking lot and heads for the nearest coffee shop.

* * *

“Chin, buddy, you gotta stop pacing,” Danny says, gently grabbing his arm. “Take a seat.”

Chin blows out a loud breath and sits down heavily, dropping his head into his hands. “It’s just—it was my fault. If I had only—”

“Hey, hey, none of that,” Danny says, interrupting him. “The only fault here belongs to the scumbag who shot her. And we’ve got him, and he’s going to jail for a good long time.”

“He’s right, brah,” Meka chimes in, from where he’s seated on Chin’s other side. “You did everything right. Sometimes this shit just happens.”

“Exactly,” Danny says. “And she’s gonna be fine.”

“That’s right,” Chin says as he takes a deep breath. “I’m going to go take a little walk. Text me if you hear anything, okay?”

“Will do.”

Danny’s also suffering from his own guilt—he wasn’t there backing up Kono, where he belongs—but she, thankfully, _is_ going to be fine. She’d gotten shot in the shoulder, and while she’d lost a fair amount of blood, the doctor had told them she would make a full, fairly quick recovery. They were doing a short surgery to remove a few bullet fragments, that’s all.

“Hey.”

Danny’s head jerks up at the sound of a familiar voice, and he’s stunned to see Steve standing in front of him, holding a tray of coffees in one hand and clutching a grease-stained bag in the other.

“Uh. Hi,” he says, his mouth suddenly feeling like cotton.

“I hope it’s okay—that I’m here, I mean,” Steve says, shifting his weight and looking more awkward than Danny has ever seen him.

“You are welcome anywhere as long as you bring coffee,” Danny says as he snaps out of his daze and stands up.

He chuckles and appears to relax a bit, so Danny smiles. “Then, please,” Steve says, gesturing with the tray.

Danny eagerly grabs two and takes a grateful sip of one. “Fuck, this is so good. The shit they serve here shouldn’t be allowed to be called coffee. Here, Meka.”

“Who’s your friend, Danny?” Meka says with a broad smile as he takes the cup that Danny’s offering.

“Oh, sorry,” Danny says with a wince. “Meka, this is Steve. My physical therapist.”

“Nice to meet you, man,” Meka says. “Did I see you at Chin’s wedding?”

“Yeah, he and I go way back,” Steve says, and Meka nods.

“Oh my god, are those malasadas?” Danny says, interrupting their conversation as he grabs for the bag.

“They are,” Steve says with a laugh. “I’m guessing you like them?”

“I love these things,” Danny says through a mouthful.

“Ooh, gimme one,” Meka says, reaching over to Danny.

“Nuh uh,” Danny mumbles, spraying crumbs as he clutches the bag closer. “He’s my friend, therefore these are all mine.”

Steve rolls his eyes and easily plucks the bag out of Danny’s grip. “Here. Save him from himself, please.”

Meka laughs and helps himself to a pastry. “Thanks, brah.”

“So how’s Kono?”

“She’s going to be okay,” Danny says with a grateful sigh. “Minor surgery now, she’s supposed to be out soon.”

“That’s great,” Steve says, the relief evident in his eyes, and Danny catches his gaze for a few long moments as he smiles, big and broad.

“Steve!”

Danny tears his eyes away from Steve’s to see Chin striding toward them. Steve and Chin give each other a quick hug, and Chin accepts a coffee with a thankful nod.

“Wow, Steve, this is great. How did you know that we were here?”

“I was at my appointment this morning when you called,” Danny says, and then he turns his gaze back to Steve. “Did everything go okay with Grace?”

“Yup,” Steve says with a nod. “Dropped her off five minutes early.”

“Wonderful. Thank you again for doing that, seriously.”

“Any time.”

Danny only lets himself think for a second about what this could mean—Steve happily taking care of his daughter and then coming to the hospital bearing treats to check on Danny’s friend—before he pushes those thoughts firmly out of his head. Steve is clearly a thoughtful, generous guy, and Danny should be grateful for his friendship.

Which he is. 

For the most part.


	5. Session Five

Danny braces his hands on the steering wheel and takes a deep breath. It’s…7:27, he surmises with a quick glance to the clock on the dashboard, which means he has exactly three minutes to calm down before his appointment. Not that he’s— _nervous_ , mind you. Just a little apprehensive.

Admittedly, the interaction between him and Steve at the end of Chin’s wedding had been uncomfortable. Danny had been slightly drunk, okay, so sue him, and he might have said something awkward about Mary that probably came across as jealous and petty. He’s really hoping Steve had just forgotten about it and won’t bring it up. Thankfully, Grace had come with him to the last appointment and acted as a wonderful buffer so he and Steve weren’t really alone together. The same was true at the hospital that morning. And somehow, in a twist of fate that over the past few weeks has been unavoidable, he hadn’t run into Steve all week. Which means today might be awkward.

Oh, fuck, now it’s 7:31, and Danny’s going to be late.

“Hey, Danny,” Mary says as he walks in, and Danny tries to smile back at her.

“Hi, Mary, sorry I’m late.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” she says, waving her hand. “I think Steve’s running a couple minutes late, too. And I heard about your friend—Kono, right? How’s she doing?”

Danny sighs. It’s basically impossible to dislike this girl, Steve’s probable girlfriend, no matter how much he wants to in the bitter, emotionally-repressed teenage corner of his brain.

“Yeah, Danny,” Steve says as he walks in, clearly having overheard the end of their conversation. “How’s Kono?”

“She’s doing much better, thankfully,” Danny says to both of them, giving Steve a quick wave. “They’re expecting a quick recovery.”

“Thank goodness. Come on back.”

Danny nods at Mary and follows Steve.

“I wanted to call or something to ask about Kono, but I didn’t have your number,” Steve explains, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“Uh, okay,” Danny says as Steve looks at him expectantly, and he freezes for a second before he rattles off his number.

“Great,” Steve says slowly as he saves Danny’s number, and Danny can feel his own phone vibrate in his pocket a couple seconds later. “Thanks.”

“Okay,” Danny says, clapping his hands. He will gladly go for overly animated to avoid any potential awkwardness. “What torture do you have in store for me today?”

Steve grins slyly, and Danny is mildly terrified. “No new torture, I promise.”

“So just the regular amount, then?”

“Yup. Let’s go.”

Danny goes through the regular exercises, but before too long Steve indicates for him to hop up on a table and lay back. Though he even gives him a pillow to stick behind his head, Danny can’t mask his surprise when Steve grabs a bottle of lotion, slicks his hands, and starts to rub his knee.

“So why are you, uh, giving me a massage?”

“You’ve been doing a lot of good strengthening work to help repair the ligament, and this is good for your muscles. Plus, it will help to increase blood flow and decrease inflammation. Just let me know if anything hurts, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Steve’s hands are warm, and nicely callused, and big, and…and Danny’s been looking at them too long, fuck. He tilts his head back and snaps his eyes closed. _Inappropriate, inappropriate, inappropriate,_ he chants in his head. Danny really wants nothing more than to revel in the feel of Steve’s hands on him, but he locks those emotions in a tiny box and instead tries to think of the most unsexy things he possibly can. He’s wearing loose shorts, and he is _not_ getting an erection in front of Steve. No fucking way.

“This is probably less torturous than the other stuff I have you do, right?” Steve asks, smiling.

Danny barely manages to muffle a snort. Yeah, right. This is _more_ torturous, in a totally different way—he’d rather do painful exercises all day long than have to resist getting aroused with Steve’s hands on him. He’d rather not have to resist, if you catch the drift.

Somehow Danny survives the next 20 minutes of Steve’s hands on him, though he has to take a few deep breaths before he can sit up. One of the proudest moments of his life right there, that he managed to not get an erection.

“So what are you up to today?” Steve asks as Danny puts his shoes back on.

“Gonna head over to the shooting range, probably. I’m going to have to get requalified with my weapon after I’m back on active duty, so I figure I might as well get some practice in,” Danny says.

“You know, I still go over to Pearl sometimes to use their range,” Steve says. “You can come with me if you want.”

“Really?” Danny asks. The range at Pearl is probably far ahead of HPD’s. And he sure as hell won’t pass up an opportunity to hang out with Steve—he’s weak. “That would be great.”

“Sure. When were you planning on going?”

“I’m pretty flexible—desk duty, you know,” Danny says, rolling his eyes. “When are you free?

“Tomorrow afternoon’s good. Around four?”

“Yeah, that works.”

“Cool,” Steve says with a nod. “You know where it is, right? There’s a strip mall a few blocks away, the one with the Target in it—we can meet there and go together. It’ll be faster that way since they know my truck.”

“Sounds good, then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

* * *

Danny is suffering from déjà vu here—waiting in his car, hoping that his upcoming interaction with Steve isn’t awkward. Promptly at four, somebody pulls into the spot next to him. It’s a hulk of a blue pickup, and for some reason that makes Danny laugh. Seems appropriate for Steve.

“Hi,” he says as he takes a big step up into the truck.

“Hey, Danny,” Steve says. He’s dressed more casually than usual today—instead of his usual button-up, he’s wearing a t-shirt, and Danny can’t help but notice the colorful tattoos that peek out of both his sleeves.

There’s a fair bit of traffic and a long line to get into the base, so Danny settles into his seat. “Thanks again for taking Grace last week,” he says, careful to look outside the window instead of at Steve. “I, uh, really appreciate it.”

“It was no problem, Danny, seriously,” Steve says. “She’s great.”

“She told me that you invited us to your house,” Danny says with a laugh.

“I was serious. You guys should come over sometime, she seemed pretty enamored with the idea of a private beach.”

“Yeah, by the way, you live on the _beach_?” Danny says, incredulous. “God, how much am I actually paying you?”

“It was actually my parents’ house,” Steve explains. “We got it when my dad died a couple years ago.”

“Oh, fuck,” Danny says with a wince. He feels like an asshole. “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Steve says, waving his hand. “It’s a nice house, and I’m lucky to live there. Mary didn’t want to, so I bought out her share last year.”

Danny thinks back over what Steve just said and is immediately confused. “Wait, what? What does Mary have to do with that?”

“Mary?” Steve says, tilting his head. “Mary’s my sister. I thought you knew that?”

“Oh,” Danny exclaims, wide-eyed. He scratches at his jaw and lets that sink in. “Wow, yeah, that, uh, that makes sense.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” Danny says quickly, shaking his head. “Forget about it.”

“No, that’s not nothing,” Steve needles. “Come on, spill it.”

Fuck, Steve isn’t going to let him get out of this. “I, uh, I thought the two of you were together. Like, you know—dating.”

Steve’s face scrunches in horror. “Oh god. Why did you think that?”

“I saw the two of you together at the wedding.”

Steve frowns, but then the realization dawns in his eyes. Danny really hopes he isn’t connecting the dots about Danny’s dumb comment. “Ah,” he says with a shrug. “I guess I could see how that could happen.”

Wait.

If Steve isn’t with Mary…is this, like, a date thing?

He has no idea why he’s always remembered this, but Rachel told him one time about Schrodinger’s cat—the thought experiment in which a cat is in a box with some poison, and you can’t know whether it’s alive or not until you open the lid. Therefore, to your knowledge with the lid closed, it is both dead and alive at the same time. (It has something to do with quantum something or other, he got pretty confused when she talked about where it came from.) So he and Steve are either dating—on their way to dating, really—or they’re not. At this exact moment in time, both could be true. And he’d rather live in denial than find out the real answer, so he’ll just keep that box closed for now.

“Danny? Hello?”

Danny snaps out of his thoughts, handing his ID to the guard and watching as the drug dogs circle Steve’s truck. After they eventually get waved in, Steve drives easily around the base toward the range and they get set up.

“So whatcha got there?” Steve asks, peering closer.

“Glock 17,” Danny says as he shows it to him. “Standard HPD issue. What about you?”

“Prefer a SIG,” Steve says.

“What the hell?” Danny yelps as Steve then pulls out an Mk18. “Why the fuck do you own such a big gun?”

“I like to stay in shape, you know, be prepared,” Steve says with a shrug. “Just in case.”

“Just in case of _what_? A zombie attack? Some mutant dolphins, maybe?”

“You never know,” Steve says with a sniff.

“Yeah, okay,” Danny says, rolling his eyes. “You are insane. Those should be illegal to own.”

“I happen to agree, but they’re not and so I have one. At least I know how to use it. And speaking of that, I bet I can beat you,” Steve says, gesturing toward the targets.

“ _You_? You think you can shoot better than me?” Danny says, pointing at himself. “Me, the cop?”

“Yeah,” Steve says as he steps a little closer. “I do think I can beat you. Actually.”

“Fine,” Danny says, holding his ground. “What’re the rules?”

“Two clips each with the handgun and the rifle. One set of head shots, one for center mass. Then we’ll compare.”

“You are such a freak,” Danny says with a laugh. “Fine. But considering that I am a normal person, clearly in contrast to you, I did not bring an _assault rifle_. So I’m going to have to use yours.”

“Here,” Steve says, handing it over. “Do you know how to shoot it?”

“Are you—seriously?” Danny asks, spreading his hands wide. “Come on, give me a little credit here.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Steve says as he raises his hands. “Just checking.”

“Okay, you’re on.”

“Loser buys the drinks,” Steve says before slipping on his ear protection and aiming at the target. “Let’s go.”

Well, fuck.

Danny doesn’t have a  _gun thing_ , okay? Being turned on by people with guns would be really problematic in his line of work, and thankfully it’s never really done anything for him. But Steve...man, Steve looks like fucking sex on a stick with a gun in his hand, and Danny isn’t even ashamed to admit it. And he’s also—wow, he’s really good at this, he must practice a lot.

This is going to be difficult. 

* * *

“I think I won,” Steve says as he carefully studies the paper targets that are currently spread out on the hood of his truck.

“Uh, no way,” Danny scoffs. He leans closer, and Steve holds his breath, but Danny stops with his shoulder about two inches away from Steve’s. “Look at those center mass shots.”

“But my head shots are better,” Steve says, returning his attention to their competition. Which he definitely won, though Danny was a damn good shot. “Though I’m impressed you hit the target at all—I’ve never seen somebody shoot a gun while wearing a tie.”

“Hey, hey, fuck you, I’m a great shot. At best I’ll offer you a tie.”

Steve twists his mouth, but he’ll concede. “Fine.”

“That means you have to buy me at least one drink, so let’s go.”

They pack up and get back into Steve’s truck, and he drives them toward a small bar he likes that isn’t too far from the base.

“You know my car is over there, right?” Danny says, pointing over his shoulder as they pass the strip mall parking lot.

“Easier this way,” Steve says with a shrug. “I can drive if you decide to drown your sorrows while mourning your loss.”

“I thought we decided it was a tie.”

“I’ve decided to contest that decision.”

“Oh, yeah?” Danny says, huffing out a laugh. “Who are you gonna appeal to?”

Steve lifts a shoulder. “Dunno. Maybe Kono?”

“Good luck with that, babe. She’s totally on my side.”

Steve rolls his eyes and pulls into the parking lot before following Danny inside. He blinks a few times to adjust to the sudden darkness and sits down at a high top for two. When a waiter wanders over, Steve asks for two beers.

“So Kono’s really doing okay?” he asks Danny after they’re settled.

“Thankfully, yes,” Danny says with a nod. “She should be good to go in a couple weeks—she’s young, she heals fast.”

“That’s great, man.”

“Yeah,” Danny says, picking at the label of his beer bottle with his thumb. “It’s just—it kills me that I wasn’t there to back her up, you know? That’s my job, and I let her down.”

“I know how that feels,” Steve says, sighing. “But that’s not on you.”

“I know that, rationally, but it just makes me feel like shit. Especially because when I hurt my knee, I was terrified that I was done as a cop. And I still feel that way sometimes. Being a cop is all I know, I have no idea what I would do if that was taken away.”

“Well, if it gives you any reassurance, I have no doubts that you’ll be back to full strength right on schedule. You’re healing great.”

Danny smiles and then lets out a little huff. “Thanks. But anyway, enough about my sob story—your turn. Why’d you leave the Navy?”

“Well,” Steve starts. He doesn’t tell this story very often, but for some reason he wants to tell Danny. “I was on a SEAL team for a few years, and then I got injured.”

“Wow,” Danny says, sitting back in his chair and blinking. “A SEAL, that’s impressive. What happened?”

“IED on the side of the road, Humvee blew up, your standard story,” Steve says with a dry, harsh laugh. 

“Oh, god, that’s awful. You seem fine now, though,” Danny says, looking him up and down and clearly looking for an obvious injury.

“The shrapnel tore up my leg pretty bad. I healed up completely, but sometimes there’s still a little lingering nerve damage in my thigh. It doesn’t affect my day-to-day life at all, really, but to be a SEAL, you have to be in perfect physical condition. So—that was that.”

“Shit,” Danny says with a wince. “That sounds terrible. Could you have done something else instead?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, nodding. “I could have switched to another division, intelligence or something, or even gone into the Reserves, probably.”

“But...,” Danny prompts, making a _go on_ motion with his hand.

“But I loved being a SEAL,” Steve says. “It was hard, don’t get me wrong, it was hard as shit. But I was  _good_  at it, and I felt like I was doing important work.”

“I can see how it would be hard to find something fulfilling after that.”

“Yeah, nothing seemed…good enough, really, and I was pretty depressed. But then I started rehab, and I realized that I was really lucky. Obviously, lots of people don’t even come home from their tours, and I saw lots of guys that were more injured than I was. The physical therapists were all so great, helping these people get their lives back, and for the first time I found something that felt as important as being a SEAL. So I got my discharge, went back to school, and...here we are.”

“Wow,” Danny says, draining the last of his beer. “That’s—that’s really amazing, actually.”

“Again,” Steve says, shrugging, “I was lucky. Lots of people don’t find purpose after the military, and I did.”

“Well, I appreciate it, anyway,” Danny says with a smile, and Steve chuckles, thankful that he broke the heavy mood. “And I’m, uh, I’m really sorry. I feel like an asshole for worrying about this injury when yours was so much worse.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Steve says, waving a hand. He’s eager to change the subject now.

“Still. I’m sorry, Steve, really.”

“So how did you end up in Hawaii anyway? I mean, I’m just assuming you’re not a local,” Steve says, gesturing with his beer bottle at Danny’s tie. He’d made fun of Danny for it earlier, but even with that tie on Danny had looked hot as shit while they were at the range. Or maybe it was because of the tie?

“No, I’m from Jersey. After we got divorced—and pretty soon after, I might add—my ex remarried a guy who lives out here, so in the interest of Grace I moved, too.”

“Oh, fuck,” Steve says with a grimace.

“I’m mostly over it now,” Danny says, shrugging and taking a long pull of his beer. “I mean, it really sucked when I first got here. But Gracie is happy here, which is all that matters, really, and I landed on a great team with Kono and Chin and Meka.”

“Well, I’m glad,” Steve says, and he means it. “That you’re happy, I mean.”

“It’s even better because a few months ago Rachel and I were back in court, and I got shared custody.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of dedication,” Steve says. It’s really not healthy the amount of affection he has for this guy, particularly how much he cares about his daughter.

“It is pretty great,” Danny says with a shake of his head. “Sometimes I can’t even believe it. Here, I’ll go get the next round.”

Steve watches Danny walk off, and he lets his gaze linger for a second too long as Danny leans against the bar. Goddamn it, Steve has no idea what’s going on between them, and this is getting ridiculous.


	6. Session Six

“I’ve got something new for you today,” Steve says, and Danny groans.

“Man, I do not like that look in your eye,” he says. “I feel like this is going to be really painful for me.”

“Oh, come on,” Steve says, rolling his eyes. He knows Danny isn’t going to like this, though. “Have I made you do anything that’s _actually_ painful?”

Danny opens his mouth and then closes it again, frowning. “Okay, what is it?”

“Pool running!”

“Pool running,” Danny repeats flatly. “What the hell is that?”

“Exactly what it sounds like—you run, but in a pool,” Steve says, needlessly demonstrating by jogging in place.

“You realize I don’t like to swim _or_ run, right?”

“Well, you’re in luck because it’s not really swimming. Come on, it’s really good for your knee.”

“Why?”

“It’s great low-impact exercise,” Steve explains. “Just another way to strengthen the muscles around your knee.”

Danny raises a finger triumphantly. “Ah-ha! I don’t have anything to swim in.”

“I figured you would say that,” Steve says dryly, lowering Danny’s finger, “so I have an extra pair of boardies. And before you ask, they’re a little small on me so they should fit you.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Danny says mulishly.

He’s clearly out of excuses, though, so Steve grins. “And you can swim, right?”

“Yes, Steven, I can swim,” Danny growls.

“Okay, just checking. I wouldn’t put it past you to say you couldn’t in order to get out of this.”

“Hey!” Danny says, pulling a wounded face. “I don’t lie.”

“Okay, okay,” Steve says soothingly. “Let’s go.”

Steve leads him down a hallway that branches off from the main room and into a room about halfway down.

“Wow,” Danny says, taking in the small rectangular pool and the wall of glass that looks out over the beach. “This is nice. I’m surprised you’re not making me go in the ocean, though.”

“Oh, I definitely would,” Steve says. The room smells a little strongly of chlorine for his taste, so he opens the two big sliding doors to let in the ocean breeze. “But the waves are too dangerous for your knee.”

“You’re really going to make me do this, aren’t you?” Danny asks, and Steve laughs at the downtrodden expression on his face.

“Yes because it’s really good for your knee. Come on, let’s go.”

“So are you going to run alongside the pool like some kind of perky drill sergeant?” Danny asks as he starts to unbutton his shirt.

“Nah, I’ll get in with you,” he says. Careful to avert his eyes from Danny, Steve strips off his shirt and dives in to the deep end. He comes back up for air, sees that Danny is using the steps to carefully get into the pool, and swims another lap.

Steve doesn’t allow himself to approach Danny and actually open his eyes for real until Danny’s waded up to his shoulders in the water. He can tell that Danny’s shoulders are delightfully broad, which he knew anyway, but thankfully the rest of him is harder to see. Steve really wishes that the pool were a little cooler—cold water would be a lot better for quelling any unwanted physical reactions—but no, the water is deliciously warm. God, this is so inappropriate.

“Not gonna get your hair wet?” Steve asks, noticing that Danny’s hair is as coiffed as usual.

Danny scoffs. “Yeah, right. Getting my hair to look this nice takes time, buddy.”

“Okay,” Steve says mildly.

“No, no, no, there’s that smile again!” Danny says, raising his hands and splashing Steve slightly. “Don’t go getting any crazy ideas about dunking me or something.”

“Okay,” Steve repeats.

Danny scowls but seems to drop it, for now. “So do you do this in the deep end or the shallow end?”

“We’re going to stick to about chest-deep. On you, not me,” Steve says with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah,” Danny mutters. “More jokes about my height, so original.”

“Come on, back up a little,” Steve says, resisting the temptation to push on Danny’s shoulder until they’re in the appropriate depth—chest-deep on Danny means the water is about halfway down Steve’s stomach. And now he can see that Danny’s pecs are nice, too, fuck.

“So what do we do?”

“We run,” Steve says with a shrug.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. It feels a little weird at first, but you get used to it.”

Steve starts to jog across the pool, and Danny easily keeps up. Since the pool is fairly small, they have to turn around often and before too long they’ve gone several lengths.

“Wow, this is boring.”

“That it is,” Steve agrees. “I didn’t tell you about that part. How’s your knee feeling?”

“It’s pretty good. I can feel it in my legs since I obviously haven’t run in like six weeks, but my knee doesn’t hurt.”

“Awesome.”

“This is kinda embarrassing, but I’m getting a little tired,” Danny says after they’ve been running for about 10 minutes, and Steve tries really hard not to notice how nice he sounds when he’s slightly out of breath.

“I’ll just have to distract you, then,” Steve says, turning around so he can jog backward in front of Danny. “And don’t be embarrassed. Pool running is a serious workout—everybody is surprised when they do it for the first time.”

“Then why don’t _you_ look tired?”

“Well, I work out a lot.”

“Obviously,” Danny says with a huff, raising his eyebrows, but Steve doesn’t really know what to do with that.

“So how’s Grace?”

“She’s great,” Danny says, lighting up immediately. “She’s working on some project about Hawaiian sea life.”

“Oh, yeah, she told me about that when I took her to school.”

“She’s really into it. We went to the aquarium last weekend so she could do some research, and she had her little clipboard—it was adorable.”

“You know, there’s a turtle sanctuary up on the North Shore, and it’s a pretty cool place.”

“Oh really? I bet she’d love that.”

“I’ll find the name for you before you leave. A guy I know runs it, I bet he’d give you guys a private tour.”

“That would be awesome. But I gotta be careful, soon Gracie’s going to love you more than me.”

“Yeah, right,” Steve says with a snort. “I think you’re Super-Dad.”

“That’s probably a bit of a stretch. But I try.”

“Do you have her this weekend? What are you guys up to?”

“Yeah, I do,” Danny says, nodding. “There’s some surfing competition for charity that Kono’s doing, and Grace is really excited.”

Steve chuckles. “I’m doing that too, actually.”

“Really? I didn’t know that you surfed.”

“Everybody surfs here, Danno,” Steve says with a smirk. “I’m not that good—I swim more than I surf—but it’s a really fun event, and I’ve done it for a few years. The clinic is actually a sponsor.”

“Oh, wow. I guess I’ll be seeing you this weekend then.”

“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll run into each other,” Steve says carefully. He kinda wants to make a concrete plan, maybe for dinner afterward or something, but he really doesn’t want to appear too forward. He still has no idea where Danny stands with all this, and Steve is a little afraid to ask. Plus, considering that Danny is still his patient, he really _can’t_ ask.

“So did I sufficiently distract you?” Steve asks a few minutes later.

“Actually, yeah. Are we done?”

“Yup. Good job, that involved a lot less whining than I was anticipating.”

“Oh, do you want me to complain more?” Danny says, spreading his arms wide. “I can do that for you if you want.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Steve says for a grin. “Well—almost.”

Quick as lightning, before Danny can react, Steve ducks down under the water and tugs on Danny’s ankle, knocking him off-balance. Danny comes up sputtering a few seconds later, and Steve only enjoys the indignation on his face for a couple blissful seconds before he hightails it for the other side of the pool, hopping out before Danny can retaliate.

“I’m going to get you back for that!” Danny calls out. “Someday, when you least expect it.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” Steve calls out as he finds a couple towels for them.

He turns around, ready to hand one to Danny, but he freezes and gulps, thankful that he has a towel to hold in front of himself. Danny’s hauling himself out of the pool, and Steve can’t resist anymore, he can’t tear his gaze away. Danny is fucking gorgeous all dripping wet, and as he runs his hands through his hair, Steve takes the opportunity to let his eyes dart over his torso for a second. Though he’s short, he’s definitely solid, with a trim waist and nice muscles everywhere.

“Thanks,” Danny says, reaching for the towel.

“Uh, yeah,” Steve says belatedly. “Nice hair, by the way.”

Danny just scowls and rubs the towel over his head, making his hair all tousled and disheveled. Steve wasn’t lying—he likes it.

“Now that wasn’t _so_ bad, was it?” he asks as he pats himself down and puts his shirt back on.

Danny sighs. “It could have been worse, I suppose.”

“I’ll take it.”

* * *

“Hurry, Danno, we’re going to miss Kono!” Grace says impatiently, tugging on Danny’s hand.

“It’s okay, monkey,” Danny says as he carefully watches for traffic before shuttling Grace across the street. “We’ve got time, I’m sure they’re running late anyway. We won’t miss them.”

Grace had nearly shrieked with delight when Danny told her that they might be seeing Steve today also. Since she’s obsessed with Kono, Steve, and surfing, in that order, she’s been a little impatient today, and Danny’s reveling in her excitement.

True to Danny’s word, they find seats in the temporary bleachers with plenty of time before Kono’s turn. For someone who got shot only two and a half weeks ago and recently got out of her sling, she’s pretty damn good, and Grace cheers wildly. Steve is up soon after, and for as much as Danny doesn’t really like surfing, he can appreciate the skill involved, and he can _really_ appreciate the aesthetic appeal of Steve on a surfboard.

Not too long after that there’s a break, and he and Grace go off in search of some water. They’re on their way back to the bleachers when Grace stops in her tracks and turns to the side.

“Steve!” she calls out, waving.

Danny turns to see Steve standing there—shirtless, dripping wet, holding his surfboard—and he wants to scream. Really, universe? Is this necessary? Seeing him a few days ago while they were in the pool was torture enough, and this is just unbearable.

He and Grace are chattering away about something, but Danny isn’t really paying attention to anything other than reacquainting himself with Steve’s tattoos and how they look when they’re wet. Steve had really lived up to his promise to distract Danny from the pool running—way too much so, actually, with his abs and his pecs, and god, those arms, Danny couldn’t forget the arms. That day Danny had looked his fill, not figuring he’d ever get another chance. He’d been discreet about it, though, of course, and he’d never been so thankful to be short in his life—his eyes are just about level with the tops of Steve shoulders, which makes surreptitious leering that much easier. And now here he is, doing it again. God, he’s such a creep.

“I’m hungry, Danno,” Grace says, swinging his hand that she’s holding and breaking him out of his oblique-induced daze. “Can we get something to eat?”

“Can we get something to eat,” Danny repeats. “Of course we can, monkey. What do you feel like?”

“Not to butt in or anything,” Steve says, “but there’s food in the sponsors’ tent, we can go there if you want. I think Kamekona’s shrimp truck is here.”

“Oooh, I love his shrimp!” Grace says excitedly. “Danno, can we? Please?”

“You sure?”

“Definitely,” Steve says with a nod. “Bring Kono, too, if you can find her. Want to meet over there in say…20 minutes?”

“Sounds good,” Danny says, and he maybe lingers a couple seconds too long watching Steve disappear into the crowd.

“Danno, can we go look for Kono?” Grace asks.

“Sure. How about you try calling her?”

Eventually they track down Kono and they all walk to the sponsors’ tent, where Steve is waiting for them. At least he isn’t shirtless anymore, but he’s wearing a loose t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, and that really isn’t much better.

“That was so cool,” Grace says around a mouthful of coconut shrimp, after they’ve gotten some food and found a small picnic table.

“Swallow first, monkey,” Danny says in a stage whisper, and she rolls her eyes at him.

“That could be you in a couple years, Grace,” Steve says. “They have a kids division.”

Danny scowls in his direction, but Steve only beams back.

“You totally could,” Kono says. “You’re making great progress in your lessons.”

“And we’ll work on Danno so he’ll let you,” Steve says, knocking their shoulders together.

“So glad that everyone’s ganging up on me,” Danny says with a frown.

“How’s your shoulder?” Steve asks Kono, pointing at it with his fork.

“It’s not too bad, actually,” Kono says as she carefully rotates it. “The sling just came off a few days ago and it’s kinda sore, but I definitely wasn’t going to pass up on this.”

“I thought you did great,” Grace pipes in, and Kono slings an arm over her shoulders with a smile.

“There’s a big party tonight,” she says. “You guys going?”

“I was planning on it,” Steve says as he turns to Danny. “You should come.”

“Ooh, a party!” Grace says, clapping her hands. “That sounds fun.”

“I’m afraid it’s a grown-up party, Gracie,” Kono says apologetically. “You’d probably be bored, there won’t be any kids there, just adults.”

“Oh,” Grace says, wrinkling her nose. “Yuck, that doesn’t sound like much fun.”

Danny laughs. “I have to get you back to your mom’s anyway, monkey.”

“But you’ll come afterward, right?” Kono asks.

“I, uh,” Danny says as he steals a look at Steve, who’s looking at him intently. “Sure, why not.”

“Great,” Kono says. “I’ll text you the address.”

* * *

Steve shoulders through the dense crowd, in search of anyone that he knows. The crowd is thick in the sprawling beach house, the music is blaring, and Steve is feeling a little old. Then he catches a flash of blonde hair and turns to see Danny fighting his way toward him. He’s wearing shorts with a tight blue t-shirt, his hair is a little looser than usual, and he looks like he  _fits in_ . Steve practically wants to jump for joy. Or jump Danny. Either or, really.

“Hey,” he says when Danny gets closer, proud that his voice sounds pretty steady. “You made it.”

“I did,” Danny says with a smile. “I came with Chin, but I lost him already. It’s nuts in here.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. Wanna get a drink?”

“Sure, though I don’t even know where to start looking for the alcohol.”

“Back room off the kitchen. I scoped the place out already.”

“Oh, really?” Danny says, laughing. “Did a little recon, huh?”

Steve shrugs and lets one corner of his mouth quirk up. “I found the alcohol _and_ an empty pool table, so you really should be thanking me.”

“Well, then lead the way, sailor,” Danny says, ushering Steve in front of him.

They manage to snag a few beers and blessedly, the aforementioned pool table is still available. Steve corrals the balls while Danny hops up on the table and takes a long drag from his beer.

“So how good are you at pool?” Danny asks.

“I’m—not that bad,” Steve says.

“Oh god, you’re a pool shark, aren’t you?” Danny asks with an exaggerated frown. “We’re definitely not betting for money, then.”

“Fine with me. You wanna break?” he asks.

Danny shakes his head and doesn’t budge from his perch on the side of the table. “Nah, go ahead.”

Steve carefully lines up his shot and is fairly pleased with how nicely the balls scatter, though none of them fall into the pockets. “Your turn.”

Danny hops down, circles the table, and sinks two balls right away on tricky shots. Steve, eyes wide, turns to him.

“Oh, yeah,” Danny says, barely holding back a smile. “I’m really good.”

Steve chuckles and shakes his head before concentrating hard on his next shot. He tries valiantly but loses by two—his focus is complicated by Danny, though, so who can really blame him. Danny in those nice shorts that show off his ass when he leans over the table, that shirt that stretches nicely over his biceps.

“Okay, one more game,” Steve says. “I need a rematch.”

A couple more games and several beers later, their shots have gotten decidedly sloppier, but Danny is still undefeated. “It’s okay,” he says, patting Steve’s shoulder. The extra contact is really unnecessary considering that they’re both perched on the table, pressed together from shoulder to knee. “I won’t tell anyone that you suck at pool.”

“Hey! I don’t suck. You’re just—really good,” Steve says, but Danny just smirks at him.

“Outside?” he says with a tilt of his head. “It’s hot in here.”

Steve nods and starts to head for the back door. A very pretty redhead walks by them, her curves nearly spilling out of her bikini top, and the crush of the crowd topples her right into Danny.

“Oh god,” she says with a giggle. “I’m so sorry.”

“S’ok, babe,” Danny says as he gets her upright again, his hand lingering on her bare hip about six seconds too long for Steve’s taste. His grin is wide and lazy, and it seems to work because the girl giggles again. “Little crowded in here.”

Danny watches her leave, and Steve barely suppresses a roll of his eyes. He’s not sure he can handle being around a drunk, horny Danny who turns his charm on for every pretty girl in their line of sight.

He loses Danny pretty quickly after that, and he’s still alone when he pushes his way outside into the fresh air. He takes a seat on a low loveseat and waits, really hoping that Danny hasn’t caught up with that redhead in there. But just when he’s thinking about going back inside, Danny comes through the door with two more beers in hand.

“Thanks,” Steve says as Danny sits down, close enough that their knees knock. “Get distracted by more girls falling on you in there?”

“What?” Danny asks, looking adorably confused, and Steve can feel his cheeks flush.

“Uh, nothing.”

Thankfully Danny is tipsy enough not to press the issue, and he leans his head back against the couch. “Man, look at all those stars. Back in Jersey you had to go so far from the city to see any.”

“Wow, did you just say something nice about Hawaii?” Steve says with a smile, and it only widens when Danny lifts his head to glare at him.

“No, in fact I did not. I just made an observation.”

“So then the stars aren’t nice?”

“They’re, you know,” Danny says, gesturing wildly. “Big. And—starry.”

“Do you know where the Big Dipper is?” Steve says, slouching down so he can rest his head against the back of the couch, as well.

“Do I look like I know where that is?”

“Hey,” Steve says, lifting his hands. “You are a man of many talents.”

“Show me,” Danny says quietly, and Steve gulps.

“Okay. See the North Star?” He lifts his arm to point, and Danny rests his cheek against Steve’s shoulder. “It’s that bright one. That’s the end of the handle for the Little Dipper. Then follow the line from the North Star to those two stars over there, which are part of the bowl of the Big Dipper.”

“Oh,” Danny says, sounding surprised. “Yeah, I see it.”

“Here in Hawaii you can also see the Southern Cross, which you can’t really see on the mainland,” Steve says, shifting his arm. “It’s those four stars right there, in the shape of a kite.”

“You just know everything don’t you?”

Steve turns his head and is surprised to see Danny’s gaze on him instead of up toward the sky. It’s dark out here, with the only light coming from the moon reflecting off the water, and Danny’s face is shrouded in shadows. Steve can’t even tell that Danny’s eyes are blue, and this suddenly feels dangerous.

“Fuck, I’m drunk,” Danny says, looking down with a chuckle.

Steve bites his lip and leans back a little.

“Hey guys!” Chin says as he pokes his head outside, and they spring apart.

Steve’s the one to get his voice first. “Hey, Chin.”

“Good job today, buddy,” Chin says, and Steve nods. “You ready to go, Danny?”

“Yeah,” Danny says as he stands, staggering a bit. “Thank god you offered to be DD, I think I had one too many.”

Chin laughs and wraps his arm around Danny’s shoulders, steadying him a little. “Good to see you loosen up, buddy.”

“Bye, Steve,” Danny says with a clumsy pat in the direction of Steve’s chest. “See you next week.”

Chin waves, and Steve smiles back. He watches them leave and then works his way through the crowd again, looking for somewhere he can sit for a few minutes until he feels sober enough to drive home. He catches a glimpse of an empty couch and makes a dive for it, exhaling gratefully when he collapses down on it. He takes a look around and sees Kono stumbling toward him.

“Hey!” she says, way too cheerfully, and Steve figures that she’s drunk. His guess is confirmed when her attempt to sit down turns into more of a controlled fall, and she ends up basically straddling Steve on the couch.

“Oops,” she says with a giggle, bracing her hands on Steve’s shoulders before letting them trail down to his chest, and he gets a little concerned.

“I don’t think this is such a good idea,” he says. He raises his hands a little, somewhat afraid to touch her.

“What isn’t?” Kono asks, her head tilted in that typical mystified drunk person look.

“Uh, this,” Steve says, gesturing between them. “You and me. You, you here in my lap.”

“Oh, no,” she says, her laugh loud and bright as she slides off Steve’s lap to sit next to him. “Danny would kill me. No, no, no. I promised.”

“What?”

“Mmm,” Kono says as she lists over closer to Steve, leaning her head on his shoulder. “You even smell good, I can tell why Danny likes you.”

“Uh, what?” Steve says again.

She continues as though she didn’t hear him. “I was so excited when he won that bet, too—oh, wait, I won, he lost. Whatever.”

“Wait, what bet, Kono?” Steve says, desperately trying to keep her on track. Getting information out of a drunk person is not easy.

“We made a bet,” she says, blinking. “On, uh, I don’t remember on what. Meka was there, though. Ooh, Meka! Is he here? Have you seen him?”

Kono makes a motion as if to try and get up, but Steve gently keeps her right where she is. “Why did you and Danny make a bet?” he asks.

“Um,” she says, clearly deep in thought. “I don’t remember. It was my idea, though.”

“What did you bet on?”

“If I won, he had to ask you out. But if he won—uh, I don’t remember. It was something bad, though.”

“But you won?” Steve asks, then Kono nods. “So he had to ask me out?”

“Uh-huh,” she says, nodding eagerly.

“And why did you have him do that?” Steve asks, afraid to get too ahead of himself here.

“Well, he liked you, but he was too,” Kono pauses for a loud hiccup, “he was too scared to do anything about it. So I made him.”

So when Danny asked him out several weeks ago, it _had_ been for real. None of that “just friends” bullshit that Danny had mumbled through after Steve said he didn’t date patients.

Interesting.


	7. Session Seven

Steve leans back in his desk chair and twirls a pen between his fingers. He can’t believe that this might actually be happening. That this guy—this fucking awesome guy who he likes more than he’s probably ever liked anyone—might actually return his feelings. Steve had been terrified to get his hopes up, probably because he’s been burned before, by guys (and girls) who were friendly and seemed into him but not _really_. Either they just wanted something casual, or in the case of some guys, freaked out after an actual advance on Steve’s part.

But not this, he can feel it. Because Danny likes him. Well, he _liked_ him several weeks ago at least, enough for Kono to goad him into a bet in which he’d have to ask Steve out. But it’s probably a safe assumption that he still does, right? (Steve’s trying really hard not to challenge that assumption and worry that Danny’s not interested anymore, likely because Steve hasn’t given him any indication of his feelings.)

Steve doesn’t really know what he’s going to do about this new information, though. He keeps trying to remind himself that he _can’t_ do anything about it, ethically, for a few more weeks at least until Danny isn’t his patient anymore. And speaking of patients, it’s 7:25 now, almost time for their appointment, and he can’t fucking wait. Steve tries to take a deep breath after realizing that his knee is bouncing…he really needs to relax. He should be worn out—he got up early, went for a swim _and_ a run—but he’s not, he’s just wired.

He makes himself wait until 7:28 before leaving his office to head for the front desk, and he’s almost there when he hears Mary and Danny talking in low voices. He knows he shouldn’t but he stops to listen anyway, tucked off behind a wall where they can’t see him.

“Can I set you up on a blind date?” Mary asks. Steve scowls—fucking sisters. “I know this girl, she’s real cute, I think you’d like her.”

“Oh, no,” Danny says. “I am _definitely_ not interested in dating somebody new right now. Like, at all.”

“Please, Danny,” Mary says. “She’s great.”

“Nope,” he says firmly. “I just—I just can’t right now, okay?”

Steve draws in a sharp breath and ducks back into his office. Not interested in dating anyone right now? Fuck! Seriously? Another one? Another guy who _seems_ like he’s interested but actually isn’t. Goddamn it, Danny must just be the biggest flirt in the world.

But Steve is good. He is an adult, he is a professional, he can handle emotional disappointment. He can do this without getting angry. He’ll just press it all down for the time being, and then deal with it later. Probably with a whole bunch of beer on his beach tonight, but he’ll deal with it.

So he takes a deep breath, composes himself, and heads back toward the front.

* * *

“Hey, Danny,” Mary says, greeting him warmly.

“Hey there,” he says with a grin. Not even the early hour is making him grumpy right now. He’s a little nervous about seeing Steve, considering that he made a bit of a fool of himself while drunk at that party last weekend, but Steve was pretty much right there with him the whole way. So literally for once in his fucking life, his hopes are high.

“Can I ask you something—personal?”

Danny frowns a little. “Um, okay.”

“Can I set you up on a blind date?” Mary asks. “I know this girl, she’s real cute, I think you’d like her.”

“Oh, no,” Danny says, lifting his hands. “I am _definitely_ not interested in dating somebody new right now. Like, at all.”

“Please, Danny,” Mary says. “She’s great.”

“Nope,” he says firmly. “I just—I just can’t right now, okay?”

“Why not?” Mary asks, and then her eyes light up. “Is there someone else?”

Danny would like to deny it, but he can feel his cheeks flush and he knows Mary will call him out on it. “Maybe,” he says, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“Ah,” she says knowingly, leaning forward in her chair. “And is this person someone I know? Maybe even somebody I know really well?”

“You are getting nothing out of me, miss,” Danny says, playfully shaking his finger in her face. But he can’t hold back his smile, and she’s smiling, too, so she’s probably onto him. Too bad he can’t find it within himself to actually care.

“Danny?”

He whirls around to see Steve standing in the doorway, his arms crossed.

“Hi,” he says with a smile, but Steve doesn’t really smile back. Well, he does, kinda, but it looks forced and doesn’t reach his eyes. Oh, fuck.

“Come on back,” Steve says, turning on his heel and leaving Danny to hurry after him.

Danny’s confused as hell as he starts to put him through his regular exercises. Steve is clinical in his explanations, he doesn’t talk about anything personal, he avoids touching Danny—it’s as if they don’t even know each other.

God, did Danny screw everything up last weekend? He wasn’t that drunk, truly, at least not enough to falsely remember what happened. It’s crystal clear in his mind, every second of it: there was a little flirting, some not-so-innocent touching, and even an almost-kiss. And he’s pretty sure that would have been an _actual_ kiss had Chin not interrupted.

So what the fuck happened to Steve since then?

Danny keeps thinking about it as he continues to work with Robo-Steve, and eventually he just morphs into being pissed off—his default setting, really, especially when he feels vulnerable and exposed. Fuck Steve, then, for pretending to like him. Because Danny’s not splitting hairs here—he’s a grown-ass adult and he knows when someone is flirting with him. Which Steve was. And now he’s barely talking to him, which makes him an asshole.

“Just so you know,” Danny says after Robo-Steve makes him do what feels like the thousandth rep of the same damn exercise, “I do not want to be here. At all.”

“Great,” Steve says, unfazed as he barely looks up from his paperwork. “That just means you’ll work harder so you can get out of here faster. Let’s go.”

He gets up, striding out of the exam room and into the open area, leaving Danny to fumble with the door on his own after him.

* * *

Danny continues to fume through his drive to the office, on his walk into the building, and as he starts to work. He starts furiously slogging through paperwork, and maybe he’s being a little loud about it because he thinks the rest of his team is avoiding him.

Eventually Kono comes in, holding her arms out in an exaggerated, calm position.

“I come in peace, I promise,” she says, but Danny only scowls at her. “And I won’t even ask what’s pissing you off.”

“What then?”

“Well, I have something to tell you that probably won’t improve your mood.”

“Oh, no,” Danny says with a groan, tipping his head back. “Do we have a new case? Is someone out there terrorizing the citizens of Oahu? Was there a mistake in our paperwork—did some scumbag get off on a technicality?”

“When you put it that way, my thing doesn’t sound that bad, actually.”

“Just spit it out, please.”

“I just remembered—last weekend at that party, I think I did something bad.”

“Oh my god,” Danny says, holding up his hands and rolling his chair away from her. “If you did something illegal, just please don’t tell me. I don’t want to have to lie on the stand.”

“Nothing like that,” Kono says, rolling her eyes. “I was pretty drunk, and I ran into Steve. I think this was just after you left.”

Oh, fuck. Danny _knows_ Kono wouldn’t hook up with him, he just knows it. But it might explain why Steve was so weird, and if Kono was drunk…

“I can see it in your eyes, Danny, and no, I didn’t sleep with him,” Kono says, plopping into the chair in front of his desk. “But he thought I wanted to, funny enough, and he said no.”

Danny closes his eyes, momentarily relieved. “Then what happened?”

“I might have _toldhimthatyoulikehim_.”

Yeah, all that relief is gone.

“I’m sorry, what now?” Danny says calmly, and Kono cringes.

“I think I told him about the bet.”

“And how much did you tell him?”

“Um, all of it, I’m pretty sure. That you liked him but were too afraid to do anything about it, so I goaded you into the bet so you would have to ask him out.”

Suddenly it all dawns on Danny, and he leans forward to thunk his head on the desk with a groan. For once, he has no words.

“Okay,” Kono says quickly, clearly trying to diffuse the situation. “I know what I did was bad, and I’m really sorry.”

Danny sits up and shakes his head at her, trying to force a smile. “No, babe, it’s fine. I’m not mad at you, I promise.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“I had my appointment this morning,” Danny explains. “Steve was _so_ weird, he was standoffish and pretty much acted like he didn’t know me. That’s why I’ve been in such a bad mood. And now this explains it.”

“What?” Kono says, tilting her head. “That doesn’t make any sense. He actually seemed pretty happy about it when I told him.”

“Well, you were drunk,” Danny says with a wry smile.

“Do you really think that’s why he was weird? You told me that you two had a good time at the party.”

“Yeah, I thought we did. But what else could it be?” he says, shrugging. “For some reason, he clearly got spooked when he found out that I like him.”

“That’s really fucking strange,” Kono says. “What are you going to do about it?”

“What _can_ I do? Nothing for now, I guess.”

* * *

“Goddamn it, Steve,” Mary mutters as she manhandles him into his office, shutting the door. “Come on, in here.”

“What?” he snarls as he glares at her.

She just rolls her eyes at him and props her hands on her hips. “You need to calm down. You’re scaring our patients with all your stomping around and your dirty looks.”

“I am not.”

“You are, actually. And what the fuck is wrong with you? This morning you were frolicking around here like some kind of overexcited puppy, and now you look like someone stole your favorite gun.”

“Nothing,” he says, dropping down into his desk chair and spinning so he’s facing away from her.

“Seriously? Are you six years old right now?” Mary says, swinging the chair back around. “You’re supposed to be the older one, or have you forgotten?”

“Can I get back to doing my job now, please?” he says, forcing the _please_ out through gritted teeth.

“Not until you start acting like a normal human being, and preferably not until you tell me what’s going on with you. And I will not hesitate to lock you in here, don’t even try me.”

“As if I couldn’t get out through the window,” Steve scoffs, but Mary’s frown only deepens.

“Shut. Up,” she hisses. “I thought you’d be happy about the whole Danny situation, so what happened? I’m just guessing that this has something to do with him.”

Steve pauses. “Wait, why do you think I would be happy about Danny?”

“Why don’t you tell me why you’re so pissed off, and then I’ll tell you.”

Steve works his jaw. He hates to admit it, but he knows Mary and she’ll probably do something really terrible to him if he doesn’t talk. “Fine. I overheard you and Danny talking his morning.”

Mary perches on the corner of his desk and gestures for him to go on.

“What? That’s it.”

“Why the fuck would our conversation make you _mad_?” Mary asks, looking genuinely confused.

Steve scowls, pissed that she’s making him repeat it. “Did you not hear him? He said that he’s not interested in dating anyone. So considering that, and what happened at that party last weekend, I’m pissed. He led me on.”

“And did you hear the _end_ of our conversation?” Mary says, with exaggerated patience.

Steve freezes. “No,” he says, stretching out the word. “I might have left after that part. What else did he say?”

“He said he didn’t want to date anyone new because there’s someone else. And after I pressed him, he basically admitted that that person was you, you _goof_.”

Well. Would you look at that.

“Motherfucker,” Steve breathes. “I really am an idiot.”

“Finally he gets it,” Mary says, throwing her hands in the air.

* * *

“Danno!” Grace chirps. “Guess who I saw at school today?”

“Um,” Danny says as he pretends to think. “The Loch Ness Monster.”

“No, silly,” she says, giggling. “Steve!”

“Steve!” he exclaims. “Why did you see Steve at school?”

“He’s helping Uncle Chin coach our flag football team.”

“Oh, really?”

“Uh-huh,” she says with a nod. “He was really nice and funny, and he told me to tell you hello for him.”

“He did, huh? When’s your next practice?”

“Uh, Friday. I think.”

“Well, I might have to stop by and say hi, then.”

* * *

Friday rolls around, and Danny knocks off work a little early to catch the end of Grace’s flag football practice. Rachel had been a little against Grace playing such an “American” sport, as she put it, but Grace loves it and had been able to convince her. Danny certainly has no complaints, especially considering that Chin is one of the assistant coaches. Plus, his girl looks adorable running around with a football.

He takes a seat in the bleachers with some of the other parents and scans the field. Sure enough, there’s Steve, looking very serious as he shows them how to best hold the football so the other kids can’t take it from them. Danny easily spots Grace, who’s right next to Steve, looking up at him adoringly and hanging on to his every word. He can’t blame her—crushes on Steve apparently run in the Williams family.

Danny is also _apparently_ masochistic because his crush on Steve hasn’t really waned. Sure, he’s still pissed at him for whatever the fuck has happened between them, but the haze of his anger has burned off. Overall there has been a lot more good than bad between them, so these damn fond feelings won’t just go away. And he can’t really take his eyes off Steve in his tank top and shorts, so there’s that.

Danny watches the rest of the practice, swinging his gaze between Grace and Steve, and when it’s over he heads out to where the team is all huddled. He’s careful not to approach Steve, instead heading straight for Grace, but the big lug finds him anyway.

“Hi, Danny,” Steve says, looking uncharacteristically cautious with his head ducked.

Danny nods at him, but Grace interrupts before he can say anything in response.

“Did you see me, Danno?” she says, bouncing on her toes. “Steve taught me how to throw a spiral, and someone caught it!”

“I sure did, monkey,” Danny says as he leans to kiss the top of her head while she’s still young enough to let him. “You did great.”

“Ooh, I have to say goodbye to Chin!” Grace squeals, and then she runs off, leaving the two men together.

“I was surprised to hear from Grace that she saw you at school.”

“Yeah, Chin told me that the main coach had to go out of town of business for a few weeks, so he asked me to fill in,” Steve says. “I had no idea Grace was on the team.”

Danny sees Chin grinning at them over Steve’s shoulder, and he sighs. Looks like Kono’s been blabbing. Somehow Danny assumes that this isn’t an accident—this has Kelly-Kalakaua meddling written all over it. Damn, they work fast.

“Danny,” Steve says suddenly, his hand on Danny’s shoulder. “I’m really sorry. I acted like a total ass at your last appointment, and that was unprofessional. I was—well, it isn’t really important what happened. Anyway, I’m sorry.”

A little stunned, Danny takes a moment to collect his thoughts. “Uh, okay,” he says lamely. “Thanks, I appreciate that. And don’t worry about it, we’re good.”

“Good,” Steve says, looking enormously relieved. “How about you and Grace come over this weekend? She can swim, we can grill—it’ll be fun.”

“Yeah, that’s—that’s good,” Danny says. This emotional 180 is throwing him for a bit of a loop, and he’s having trouble adjusting. “But I actually don’t have Grace this weekend, she’s with her mom.”

“Okay, next weekend, then?”

“You got it.”


	8. Session Eight

“Make a right up there, Danno,” Grace says, looking up from the map on Danny’s phone to point. “And it should be on the left about halfway up.”

“Thanks, monkey,” he says as he scans the numbers of the houses on the left, looking for Steve’s. “I think this is it.”

Danny pulls in next to Steve’s big truck and a smaller sedan. The house is definitely older, but it’s well-maintained and looks homey. He’s waiting for Grace to get all her stuff out of the car when the front door opens. He expects to see Steve but instead it’s a young blonde woman, who gives him a friendly wave on her way to the mystery car. She’s tall—really tall, actually, maybe even taller than Steve—and beautiful, and he awkwardly waves back.

“Who’s that?” Grace asks, and Danny looks down to find her standing next to him.

“I don’t know,” he says, tugging her behind him so the girl has enough room to back her car out. “Probably a friend of Steve’s.”

A  _friend_ , his ass. But he’ll shoot himself before he explains to Grace what a one-night stand is.

Weighed down by her backpack, Grace races up the front steps to knock on the door. She’s practically bouncing, and although he’s kinda pissed about this random girl, Danny can’t help but smile at her excitement. Steve opens the door immediately, and he’s looking more relaxed than usual in board shorts and a thin t-shirt.

“Hey,” he says warmly, easily catching Grace in a hug when she rushes him. He looks over her head to smile at Danny. “And hi to you, too.”

Danny just nods sharply and lingers in the doorway.

“Oh my god is that your beach?” Grace says, pointing out the back. “Can I go see?”

Steve laughs and gestures toward the open lanai door. “Sure, go ahead.”

“But don’t go in the water yet, Grace!” Danny yells after her as she scampers away.

“You okay?” Steve says, reaching behind Danny to close the door.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Danny says. He’s trying not to sound as irrationally angry as he feels, but he thinks he’s failing. “Would be better if you tried a little harder to have your fuck buddies out of the house before Grace comes over, but you know—fine.”

Steve grits his teeth and is clearly ready to respond when Grace’s voice comes from outside.

“Hurry up, please, I want to go in the water!”

“I’m coming, sweetie,” Danny calls out.

He starts to push past Steve, but he grabs his arm. “She is not my  _fuck buddy_ , as you so eloquently put it,” he says lowly. “Come on, we need to talk about this.”

“Fine, then we’ll talk later,” Danny says. He tries to twist out of Steve’s grip, but it only tightens.

“Don’t—do this,” Steve says, and Danny is a little surprised to see the genuine apprehension on his face. “I thought we were good, and now you seem pissed again.”

“I’m sorry,” Danny admits. He knows he’s overreacting. Even if Steve is romantically involved with that girl somehow, that’s none of his business—they aren’t dating. “We are good, I know. And we really will talk later, I promise.”

“Okay,” Steve says with a nod, leading Danny into the kitchen after he finally lets go of his arm. “I’ll go swim with Grace. You want a beer?”

“Yeah,” Danny says on an exhale. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

Steve pops the top off a Longboard and hands it to him, then ushers him out the back door.

“Isn’t this cool, Danno?” Grace asks. She’s taken off her cover-up dress and is clearly ready to swim.

“It’s very cool,” Danny says honestly. Even he can admit that a small patch of beach outside your back door is pretty neat.

“It’s not a lot, and the waves aren’t great enough for surfing,” Steve says, “but it’s all mine, and it’s nice to have.”

“Can I swim? Steve, will you swim with me?”

“Of course I will,” Steve says, stripping off his shirt and tossing it onto a chair. Danny tries not to look. “Jean shorts, really, Danno?”

“Perfect beach attire when you aren’t getting in the water,” he says, shrugging.

“Well, we’ll see about that,” Steve says with that damn smirk, and Danny scowls at him.

“You two go, turn into dolphins or whatever,” Danny says. “Grace, what are the rules?”

“Don’t go too deep, and listen to Steve,” she recites obediently.

“Good girl,” he says, and she runs off toward the water. Danny turns to Steve. “Just—be careful, okay? That’s my baby girl out there.”

“I got her, Danno, I promise,” Steve says with a smile. “Just relax and trust me.”

Lord knows why, but Danny does, so he just waves off Steve and watches as he jogs in after her. Danny drags one of Steve’s chairs a little closer to the water and settles in. And since no one is around to watch him do it, he even digs his toes into the sand and wiggles them around a little bit. Here in the shade of the afternoon sun with his beer, watching his little girl run around happily, he’ll even admit that life is pretty good right now.

Things between him and Steve are good, too, that awkward incident earlier notwithstanding. Thankfully, everything had seemed back to normal between them during their last appointment several days ago. And they had even been texting back and forth this week. Nothing of substance, really, just random stuff, but it warms Danny’s heart all the same.

Danny continues to watch the two of them, sticking the beer bottle deep into the sand when he’s done. The distance allows him to look unabashedly, but he finds himself watching how gentle Steve is with Grace as much as he appraises how Steve’s muscles move under his tan skin. He’s so relaxed that he even dozes off a bit, which is a testament to how much he trusts Steve—normally when Grace is around his radar is impossible to turn off.

He startles awake when he feels drops of water on his skin, and he looks up to see Steve standing in front of him, blocking the sun.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Steve says, and Danny does _not_ blush at that soft smile, he doesn’t. Really.

“You two having fun out there?” he asks, sitting up more in his chair.

“Oh, yeah,” Steve says. “How about you come in with us?”

“Come on, Dannooooo,” Grace pleads as she materializes at Steve’s side. Danny can barely resist her puppy dog eyes, and when you throw in Steve’s, too, there’s just no way. He’s only human.

“Fine, fine,” he says, pretending to grumble as he stands up and pulls off his shirt. “But if I get stung by a jellyfish, the two of you are gonna _pay_.”

“Yay,” Grace cheers as she grabs Danny’s hand and tugs him toward the water.

As soon as they wade in up to Danny’s waist, he grabs Grace and tosses her up, grinning as she squeals. She resurfaces with a giggle and then gets into cahoots with Steve to launch a full-on splash war with Danny. He puts up a valiant effort for a while but eventually has to resort to using Grace as a human shield.

* * *

Danny trudges out of the water about an hour later, exhausted from the effort of playing with these two. Energizer bunnies, the both of them.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he says, snagging Grace’s arm before she walks into the house. “Try to shake off a little bit, you’re covered in sand. As am I.”

“You guys can shower if you want,” Steve says, rubbing a towel over that chest in a very distracting manner.

“You wanna shower, monkey?” Danny says, after he manages to drag his eyes away.

Grace nods. “Yeah, I brought extra clothes.”

“Why don’t we let Danno shower first, Gracie? He’s not going to be very comfortable in those wet shorts,” Steve says, grinning.

“I didn’t bring any extra clothes,” Danny says with a grimace. “I wasn’t planning on getting in the water.”

“You can borrow some,” Steve says. “Come on, it’ll be much better than you complaining about sand in your hair for the rest of the day.”

“You mean you don’t like my complaining?” Danny says with a gasp as he leans forward.

“Go shower,” Steve says, smiling even as he rolls his eyes. “I’ll go get you clothes in a few minutes. Bathroom’s up on the left, and there are extra towels in the cabinet.”

Danny nods and heads into the house, trudging up the stairs and trying not to drip too much water on the wood floors. He would never actively snoop, but that doesn’t stop his eye from wandering around Steve’s bedroom as he peeks in. It’s a little plain, but it’s certainly neat, with wood everywhere and a dark blue bedspread on the made bed.

He showers quickly, wincing as he tries to get all the sand off. How does that damn stuff get _everywhere_? And he doesn’t really have anything to fix his hair with, so he just runs his fingers through it with a sigh. Oh, well. Fluffy hair will just have to do.

Danny steps out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, and there, sitting innocently on the bed, is a small pile of neatly-folded clothes. He tries not to think about the fact that he’s pulling on _Steve’s_ boxers, but he definitely takes a second to sniff the shirt as he slips it over his head. It smells pretty much like Steve does, and it must be small on him because it just about fits Danny. The shorts are a different story, though, and Danny shakes his head as they fall far below his knees.

He goes back downstairs to look for Steve and Grace, finding them stretched out on the sand. “Shower’s free,” he calls out.

“My turn!” Grace chirps as she jumps up.

“I left out an extra towel for you,” Danny says. “Just yell if you need anything, okay?”

“I will, Danno,” Grace calls out over her shoulder as she heads into the house with her backpack. Danny turns to Steve, who is annoyingly still shirtless.

“I’m just gonna rise off in the outdoor shower,” he says.

“Oh, okay. I’ll just—yeah,” Danny says, awkwardly thrusting his thumb back toward the house. He grabs two beers from the fridge and settles on the couch, trying not to think about how Steve is probably naked just a few yards away.

It’s not long before Steve comes in, rubbing a towel over his head. “Thanks,” he says, sitting down and clinking his bottle with Danny’s. “So.”

Danny nods and takes a deep breath. “So,” he repeats.

“Let’s talk, c’mon.”

“Well, let’s start with that girl. Not your fuck buddy, you say. Your girlfriend?”

“She is  _not_  my girlfriend. First of all, she’s 22 years old—literally closer to Grace’s age than mine. And she is a patient, actually, a volleyball player from UH who hurt her shoulder. She was returning something she borrowed.”

Oh. Well that makes sense, and Danny wants to  _disappear_  right about now.

“I’m sorry,” he admits. “I just—I jump to the worst case scenario, okay? I’m working on it.”

The corner of Steve’s mouth quirks up, and he leans back, slinging one arm over the back of the couch. Damn it, Danny really hates that smirk.

“Why would that be the worst case scenario?”

“You know why, you asshole,” Danny says, poking him in his annoyingly-firm arm.

“Well, I  _think_  I know why, but considering all the shit that’s gone down between us, how about you just explain it to me? For the sake of clarity.”

“For the sake of clarity, my ass. You just want your ego stroked.”

“I’ll stroke yours if you stroke mine,” Steve says. His grin is wide, and he looks way too pleased with himself.

“Oh, for the love of god,” Danny says, shaking his head. “That was terrible.”

“Yes, it was,” Steve says with a nod. “You were saying?”

Danny opens his mouth, then pauses. God, he’s such a coward. “You’re really going to make me say it, aren’t you?”

“Then _I’ll_ say it. I like you, okay? I like you a lot, and I want to date you. There’s isn’t anyone else, there hasn’t _been_ anyone else, it’s just you.”

Danny can probably count on one hand the number of times in his life that he’s been truly speechless, but this is definitely one of them. Steve, fucking _Steve_ , is just sitting there, looking all earnest with his feelings and his handsomeness, and Danny doesn’t really know how to deal with all of this.

“I would be—uh, in favor of that, yes,” he finally manages to say.

“Yeah?” Steve says, and that wide, silly smile stretching across his face is something Danny would like to see a lot more of.

“Yeah, you goof. Obviously.”

“You still have to say it.”

“What, are we in the seventh grade now?” Danny says, pretending to complain but not doing a very good job of it. “Is this like a ‘circle yes or no’ type of situation?”

“What if it was?” Steve counters, and Danny cannot believe that they’re having this ridiculous conversation.

“I would circle yes,” he says calmly, “because I like you, too.”

“But do you _like_ like me?” Steve asks, and that grin has turned from goofy to shit-eating.

“I refuse to talk about this anymore,” he says, but his umbrage is being undermined by his laughter. “We are grown-ups who like each other and will start to date. That’s that.”

“But,” Steve starts, and Danny interrupts him immediately.

“No, no, no buts,” he says, holding his hands up like a shield.

“It’s not a bad but!”

“Is there such a thing as a good but?”

Steve smirks again, and Danny rolls his eyes. “Okay, forget I said that.”

“As I was going to say, before you got me thinking about your ass,” Steve says, and yes, that dark look makes Danny flush, thank you for asking. “We can’t date because you’re my patient.”

“Like  _ever_?” Danny says, aghast.

“No, not ever. Just until I’m no longer your doctor.”

“That’s not for two more weeks!”

“It’s been, what, eight weeks already? I think we can survive a couple more.”

“Hold up,” Danny says. “You’ve liked me for the whole eight weeks?”

Turns out Steve is adorable when he’s embarrassed—his eyes get all shifty, and he’s fidgety like he gets at no other time. “Maybe.”

“Interesting,” Danny says, leaning back.

“Hey, you asked me out after our second appointment!”

“Oh, I wasn’t denying it,” Danny says.

“So can you survive waiting two weeks?”

“Fine,” Danny says, crossing his arms. “But then I want a date, a good one. That day, preferably.”

“What constitutes a good date?”

Danny thinks about it for a second, and then his eyes brighten. “You, wearing a tie.”

“Okay,” Steve says with a shrug.

“ _Okay_ , easy as that? For all the shit you’ve given me about my ties?”

“Are you kidding? I would do anything—wearing a tie is easy.”

Well, then. “Okay.”

“So is the tie the only thing? Maybe just the tie and nothing else? Is this your way of telling me you have a tie kink?”

“No, that’s not it, you Neanderthal. You in a tie, with actual nice clothes, and dinner.”

“Good, then it’s a date.”

It’s quiet for several seconds, and it seems to be the beginning of a _moment_. Danny’s still thinking about what he wants to do with it—besides just looking Steve in the eye, as he’s doing now—when he hears Grace coming down the stairs. He shoots a rueful smile at Steve before standing to give her a hug.

“Can I have a braid, Danno?” Grace asks. She’s poking out her lower lip, but the extra pleading is hardly necessary—Danny will braid her hair any time she wants. He’s already worried that soon she’ll be too old to ask.

“You betcha,” he says, gesturing for her to come sit in front of him. “One or two?”

“Just one please,” she says, and he gets to work, combing her hair through with his fingers.

“You’re very good at that,” Steve remarks a few minutes later.

Danny looks over at him, ready to rip him a new one if he’s teasing, but it’s a genuine smile on his face so Danny relaxes. “Lots of practice.”

* * *

“Are we gonna have dinner?” Grace asks after Danny has finished her braid and she has inspected his work in the mirror. “I’m hungry.”

“You bet,” Steve says, standing up. He’s hungry, too. “What do you want? I’ve got steak or fish that we can throw on the grill.”

“Um,” she says, tilting her head back and forth. “I can’t decide.”

“Both it is, then,” Steve says, and Grace laughs. “Do you want to help?”

Grace nods eagerly, so the two of them head off into the kitchen. He shows Grace the basics of grilling—with Danny standing watch nearby, of course—and soon they’re sitting down outside to eat. Danny had thrown together a salad, and it ends up being probably the nicest dinner Steve’s had. The setting sun and warm breeze don’t hurt, but he guesses it’s the company. And seeing Danny in his clothes...well, it makes the little primal corner of his brain very happy. 

“You guys want to stay for a movie?” he asks when they’re about done.

“We don’t want to intrude on your evening,” Danny says, and Steve has to smile at the look of apprehension on his face. As if there’s anything he would rather do.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Steve says, knocking Danny’s shoulder with his elbow as he stands up. “Grace, you go pick out a movie, and I’ll make popcorn.”

“And what about me?” Danny asks.

“Oh, you can do the dishes,” Steve says, stacking their plates on top of Danny’s. Grace laughs, and Steve puts his hands on her shoulders, steering her into the house.

Before too long they’re all settled on the couch, Grace in the middle with the bowl of popcorn in her lap. She’d picked some superhero movie—there are so many now that Steve can’t keep track. But he couldn’t care less about the movie when he can stretch his arm over the back of the couch and let Danny’s soft hair brush against his fingers. Every once in a while he tickles the back of his neck and grins at Danny when he scowls at him.

God, today had gone even better than Steve had expected. Things had seemed back to normal between them before, and he’d gotten his wish that they could actually talk about everything. Their friendship had been rife with misunderstandings, so he’s beyond grateful that they’re finally on the same page. And now they are actually going to date, for real. Well, in a couple weeks—but Steve’s waited so long, he’s pretty sure he can make it.

Steve keeps a close eye on Grace, smiling to himself as she dozes off and leans into Danny. He’ll freely admit that he loves watching Danny with Grace. Steve knows that Danny is really just a big marshmallow under all that bluster, and that’s never more evident as it is when he’s with Grace. His love and adoration for her is so obvious, and Steve finds himself aching for just a tiny piece of it.

All of a sudden the credits are rolling, and Danny carefully gathers Grace up in his arms.

“I’ll grab her stuff,” Steve says softly. He gets her backpack and walks through the house, checking to make sure that nothing’s left behind, before he meets Danny at the door. “I think this is everything.”

“Thanks, for today,” he says, and that little smile of his is probably Steve’s favorite.

“See you on Tuesday,” Steve says quietly. He waits, leaning against the doorjamb, until the Camaro’s headlights have faded from view before he goes back inside.


	9. Session Nine

“Are you and Steve boyfriends?” Grace asks one afternoon on their way home from school. Danny’s just pulled up at a stop sign, and he looks at her for so long that the car behind them honks.

“What would make you think that, sweetie?” he says, finally, as he steps on the gas.

Grace shrugs. “You guys act like Mom and Step-Stan do.”

Danny’s not sure whether he’s being compared to Rachel or Stan in this situation, and he doesn’t want to think about that too much. “How would you feel about that?” he asks. Grace is young enough that Danny’s never explained the whole “Danno also likes boys” thing to her, though he’d always figured that she’d be fine with it. But now that it’s become reality and she’s sitting next to him with those big brown eyes, he’s a hell of a lot more worried about it.

“Is that a yes?” she counters, and Danny has to laugh. His girl is smart.

“Yes, we are dating. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course,” Grace says, looking at him like he’s an idiot. “I love Steve.”

“Good,” Danny says with a nod. “So you won’t mind if we do things with him sometimes during our weekends?”

Grace shakes her head. “He told me that I can come over to swim whenever I want.”

“Well, that was very nice of him. And if you, you know—become uncomfortable with anything for any reason or have any questions, you just tell your Danno, okay?” Danny says. He’s never had to talk to Grace about a boyfriend or girlfriend, but he thinks he’s doing a decent job of stumbling through it. “You always come first, remember that.”

“I know, Danno,” Grace says. “Should I call him Step-Steve?”

“Uh, let’s not do that yet, monkey,” Danny says, blanching. “Just Steve is fine.”

* * *

When Danny walks into the office Tuesday morning, Steve is already there, leaning against Mary’s desk. He straightens up when he sees Danny, and he can’t help but return his broad smile.

“Hi,” Danny says, flushing a little under Steve’s intense gaze.

“Hey.”

The spell is broken when Mary snorts, and Steve turns to see her rolling her eyes.

“You two are disgusting,” she says, but she’s smiling as she shoos them away. “Please leave, I can literally feel your heart-eyes.”

“So,” Danny says as they walk toward the back, “she knows.”

“Yeah,” Steve says with a laugh. “She’s like a dog with a bone, it’s impossible to keep anything from her.”

“I’m familiar with the type,” Danny says dryly. “I got the third degree from Kono.”

“Yikes.”

“Does that bother you? That they know, I mean,” Danny asks, and when Steve looks over at him, his cautious expression indicates that he cares a lot more about Steve’s answer than he’s pretending to.

“No, not at all,” he says, and he’s gratified to see Danny’s entire face relax. “I mean, I’m not out there waving the rainbow flag every day, but the important people know. It’s fine. What about you?”

“Yeah, same. Enough people know. You weren’t out in the Navy, though, were you?” Danny asks. “I mean, with that whole...thing.”

“Are you trying to distract me with questions so you don’t have to do your exercises?”

“Are you trying to make me do my exercises so you don’t have to answer my questions?” Danny counters.

“Fair point,” Steve allows. “I will answer anything you want _while_ you work out. Well, within reason.”

“Okay, then,” Danny says, grabbing the resistance band and starting into his squats with more enthusiasm than Steve had ever seen.

Steve laughs. “I should have known—the best way to motivate you is to indulge your intrusive nature.”

“Well, there are other ways to motivate me, too,” Danny says, his grin slack and wide, but Steve can’t let himself go there right now. “Although I prefer to call it curious, actually. And you know, that thing that makes me great at my job. So back to my question.”

“You mean Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?”

“Yeah—that.”

“No, I wasn’t, not at all. I mean, it kinda sucked—knowing that something so dumb could get me kicked out—but I’m lucky, I guess, in that I like women, too. So I just focused on that for a while.”

“Oh great, so I get to be jealous of the en _tire_ population,” Danny says with a snort. Steve rolls his eyes, though secretly he kind of likes the idea that Danny would be jealous. “I bet you did just fine with the ladies.”

“My nickname was Smooth Dog,” he admits.

Danny’s raucous laughter is too much for the one-legged hamstring curl he’s currently doing, and he nearly falls over. “Oh my god, that is priceless. Was it ironic? Please tell me that it was.”

“It was not, thank you very much,” Steve says with a huff, crossing his arms. 

“Are you sure?” Danny says, tilting his head. “I haven’t really seen any evidence of that.”

“Hey! I can be smooth when I want to be. And, I mean, would you _rather_ have Smooth Dog?”

“Nah, I’ll take Steve,” he says with a smile. “Did that have anything to do with why you ended up leaving the Navy?

“Uh, not really,” Steve says truthfully. “I didn’t agree with that policy, obviously, but I really loved the Navy—it was hard work, and I was really good at it. Being honest about being bi is a benefit of being out, though.”

“In more ways than one,” Danny says with a laugh.

* * *

“So,” Danny says, lingering in the doorway of Steve’s office at the end of their appointment.

“Yes?”

“This weekend is the annual HPD family barbecue. Would you like to come?”

“Ooh,” Steve says, leaning back in his chair and lacing his hands together in his lap. “That sounds like a date.”

“Whoa, whoa, no. This is—it’s not a date, okay,” Danny explains, bracing his hands in front of him. “I am following the rules. This is just a friendly event that I am inviting you to out of the goodness of my heart. Chin and Kono will be there, you know them, and Grace asked me if you were going to be there.”

“Oh, so this whole thing is Gracie’s idea, then?”

“Well, I would not be, uh, _upset_ if you decided to come, let’s put it that way.”

“Huh. Still sounds like a date,” Steve says, but the way he’s smiling tells Danny that he’s just being contrarian for the hell of it.

“Well then how about this. Next Saturday, in Kapiolani Park, there will be a barbecue. Maybe you happen to drive by, maybe you happen to stop and see what’s going on, maybe you see somebody you know. That’s it,” Danny says with a shrug. “Sounds pretty innocent to me.”

“Maybe I will,” Steve says. He’s doing a really shitty job of hiding his smile, in Danny’s opinion. “Nice pronunciation there, by the way.”

“Good,” Danny says, rapping the door with his knuckles as he turns to leave. “Then I’ll see you on Saturday—maybe. And I’ll choose to ignore that sarcasm.”

“Oh, Danny?”

“Yeah?” he says, turning around to see Steve with his head poking out of his office.

“What time might I want to be driving by?”

“4!” he calls out, walking backward toward the exit and returning Steve’s smile.

* * *

It’s 3:58 on Saturday when Danny sees Steve’s big truck pull into the parking lot—not that he’s been looking for it, of course. He’s sandwiched between Kono and Grace at a picnic table, and he watches Steve walk into the park and look around. Danny stretches up a little bit, waves, and manages to catch Steve’s eye. His whole face relaxes into a broad smile as he heads toward them—god, he’s pretty.

“Danny’s boyfriend is here,” Kono sing-songs, and Danny immediately elbows her in the side.

“Shut up,” he hisses, ignoring the chuckles of everyone else—Chin, Malia, Meka, and Amy—on the other side of the table. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“That’s what they all say,” Kono says, though to her credit she stops talking as Steve approaches.

“Steve!”

Grace jumps up to hug him, and he swoops her up, stealing her seat next to Danny and settling her in his lap.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hi, there,” Danny says, hating himself a little bit for the flush he can feel on his face. “Glad you could make it.”

“Oh, you know, just driving by,” Steve says, grinning as he bumps his shoulder against Danny’s.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, Danny?”

Danny startles and forces himself to look away from Steve. “Steve, this is Amy, Meka’s wife. And I think you know everyone else.”

Steve charms the pants off everyone, obviously, and Danny is seriously having a hard time taking his eyes off him. Chin and Meka eventually hop up to get everyone some food, and since Grace refuses to budge from Steve’s lap, he keeps one arm around her waist and eats around her. All of Danny’s favorite people are here in one place, and Grace and Steve keep talking softly to each other, with Steve ducking his head down and looking at her intently as if the words she’s saying are the most important he’s ever heard. Seriously, Danny’s heart just can’t take this. He eats too many malasadas, it’s not strong enough.

So fuck this shit.

* * *

“Ow!” Steve complains as Danny yanks at his arm, trying to get him to stand up. He carefully dislodges Grace from his lap.

“Come on,” Danny says harshly, though he does let go of his elbow when Steve rises to his feet.

“Where are we going?” Steve asks, but Danny’s several paces ahead of him and clearly not answering. So he follows, lengthening his stride to keep up. “What the hell is wrong with you? Did I say something to make you mad? I was joking about your hair before, I really do like it.”

Steve follows Danny, who still has not said anything, all the way to the edge of the park and to the far side of a shed, where they’re out of eyesight of just about everyone. Danny rounds on him, and Steve takes an instinctive step back, right up against the wall of the shed. But Danny’s eyes are bright, and he definitely doesn’t look angry.

“You,” Danny says, pointing at him and getting right up in his space, “you are just so—”

Someday Steve would like to hear the end of that sentence, but right now he couldn’t care less because Danny’s pressed up against him and he’s kissing him. Steve inhales sharply through his nose and spreads his feet a little so their height difference isn’t as stark. Bracing his weight against the shed, he gets an arm around Danny’s waist to pull him even closer. Danny’s lips are soft but insistent, moving as energetically as they do when he talks, and Steve quickly tilts his head to deepen the kiss. Danny opens up to him immediately, and fuck if this isn’t the best first kiss he’s ever had.

“Are you mad that I did that?” Danny says quietly when he pulls back a couple minutes later, and Steve just fucking loves how his voice is a little hoarse. The pink spots high on his cheeks don’t hurt, either.

“Do I seem mad?” he says, tugging him even closer with the hand that’s still on his back.

“You’re the one with the, you know, rules,” Danny says with a wave of his hand.

“I’ll let this one go,” he says, smiling.

“How very magnanimous of you,” Danny says dryly.

“You know we can’t go back there, right? Everyone’s gonna know.”

“No, I’ll never hear the end of it. Let’s go take a walk.”

* * *

Danny’s phone chimes, and he winces when he reads the message. “Rachel says she wants to pick Grace up from here instead of having me drop her off. I’m pretty sure this is a ploy,” he confesses.

“What do you mean?”

“Grace asked me last week if you and I were dating, and I bet she told Rachel. This is just too much of a coincidence—I think she wants to meet you. You can take off if you want,” Danny offers. “I’m sure she’ll be pissed that her plan failed, and that’s always fun.”

“Oh, no,” Steve says with a grin. “I want to meet her.”

“You’re weird, you know that?” Danny says, chuckling.

Steve just shrugs—he’s almost  _excited_  to meet Danny’s ex-wife. He knows nothing about her, has never even seen a picture, and the curiosity is killing him. The rational side of his brain is trying to tell the irrational, dumb side that there’s no reason for him to be jealous, and it’s pretty much working. 

“Should I be worried?”

“You’re much more handsome than her husband, so hopefully she’ll just be jealous.”

“Do you want me to take off my shirt or something? Really rub it in?” Steve asks, and Danny rolls his eyes.

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” he says dryly. “But thanks for the offer.”

They make their rounds, saying goodbye, and after Danny collects Grace from where she’s been playing with the other kids, Steve finds himself sitting on the grass between the two of them. Soon a sleek sedan with tinted windows pulls up in front of them, and Grace hops to her feet. Steve and Danny follow, a little more slowly, and Steve hangs back a little as he watches a woman exit the car. He’s not really sure what he had pictured in his head, but he doesn’t think this is it—Rachel is tall, beautiful, of course, and unquestionably elegant. 

“You must be Steve,” she says, holding out her hand, and holy _fuck_ she’s British—Danny never mentioned that.

“Hi,” he says, finally remembering his manners as he shakes her hand. “It’s great to meet you.”

“Yes, Rachel, this is Steve,” Danny says belatedly. “Steve, Rachel.”

“Grace speaks very highly of you,” Rachel says.

“Yeah, Steve is the best!” she chimes in, and Steve grins at her.

“Well, that’s good because your opinion is the only one that matters,” he says, tugging on her braid.

“Hey, what about my opinion?” Danny asks, his hands on his hips.

“Eh,” Steve says as he lifts one shoulder, and he catches Rachel’s eye as she bites back a smile.

“All right, Grace,” Rachel says, her hands on her shoulders. “Let’s go.”

Grace hugs Danny and then Steve, surprising him. He lifts a hand toward Rachel. “It was nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” she says, smiling. “Bye, Danny.”

Danny waves, and they watch as Rachel’s car exits the parking lot

“So,” Steve says brightly, leaning back with his hands in his pockets. “You like dark-haired people who are taller than you.”

Danny groans. “Can we just—not with the similarities, okay? The two of you really aren’t that alike, especially since as far as I know, you aren’t the spawn of Satan.”

“Aw, she didn’t seem _that_ bad.”

“Yeah, now. But you haven’t seen her during a divorce with a lawyer.”

Steve stifles a chuckle. “How long have you guys been divorced?”

“Almost two years.”

“And are you, you know, over it?” Steve says awkwardly.

“Yeah,” Danny says on a long exhale. “I mean, we were good for a while, but it was really ugly at the end. It’s definitely better that we’re not together anymore.”

“What happened?” Steve asks, then quickly backtracks. “I mean—you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“Oh, you know,” Danny says with a shrug. “We probably got married too young, she found out she really didn’t want to be the wife of a cop, et cetera, et cetera. The breakup was awful. And then to add insult to injury, I didn’t have a choice but to follow when she moved Grace out here to marry Stan.”

“Who I’m more attractive than,” Steve pipes in, mostly to lighten the mood, and Danny laughs.

“Yes, that’s true,” he says with a nod. “But I’d do it a hundred times over because of Grace.”

“She’s pretty great,” Steve agrees.

“She loves you, by the way,” Danny says. “You’re really good with her.”

“Good because I wasn’t kidding before—her opinion is the only one I care about,” Steve says with a grin. “And yours too, sometimes, I suppose.”

“You’re lucky that you’re cute _and_ that my daughter likes you,” Danny says, his eyes crinkling as he smiles, and Steve wants nothing more than to kiss him again right now.

“I should go,” he says regretfully. He really wants to keep this going, to invite Danny for a drive or a drink—or, hell, to his house to have sex, if he’s wishing for things—but he knows he shouldn’t.

“Yeah,” Danny says, exhaling. “I’ll see you on Tuesday, though?”

“You bet. We still on for that date?”

“Oh, yeah. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Thank goodness.”


	10. Session Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for following along with this story! It was my first true AU, and I very much appreciate all the support and lovely comments! Hope you all like the end. <3

Danny walks into the office at 7:25—maybe he’s a little excited, okay—and nearly swallows his tongue when he sees Steve there waiting for him.

“What, uh,” he sputters. He clears his throat and tries again, gesturing up and down. “What the fuck is that, what are you wearing?”

“What do you mean?” Steve says, looking down at himself as if he doesn’t already know exactly how good he looks. “You told me to wear a tie.”

Steve’s wearing a tie, all right, a nice blue one that looks great with his white shirt and his _dress pants_. Nicely-tailored dress pants that probably show off his ass, Danny guesses, if only he would turn around.

“Yeah, but I meant on our date,” Danny says, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes in despair. “Not _now_ when I have to look at you and I can’t do anything about it.”

“Whoops,” Steve says cheerfully. Danny’s going to kill him, he really is.

“Any chance we can switch our date to breakfast?” he says, his eyes roving quickly over Steve’s torso. “Please?”

“’Fraid not, babe,” Steve says, grinning unrepentantly now. “I’ve got patients all day.”

“You are a fucking tease, you know that?”

“Hm, I’m not sure I agree with that,” Steve says as he steps closer and lowers his voice. “Because _tease_ implies that I’m not going to follow through.”

Well, fuck. Danny tries desperately to suppress a shudder, and he thinks he does a pretty good job, considering the circumstances.

“Okay, can we just get this going, please?” he says, making a shooing motion toward the door. “The faster this day is over the sooner I can cash in all of your…teasing.”

“Gladly.”

“Oh, after you,” Danny says with a smirk.

Steve narrows his eyes at him but obeys, and Danny tilts his head for a second before he follows—yup, he was right. That’s a nice view. He hurries to catch up and joins Steve in an exam room, where he automatically hops up on the table.

“So how’s your knee been feeling?” Steve says, taking a seat on the stool.

Danny tries to shift his focus. Right—Steve is still his doctor, not his boyfriend. Yet. Hopefully that will change in about 12 hours.

“It’s great,” he says honestly, letting his feet swing. “Every once in a while if I’ve been on my feet for a really long time, I can feel a twinge. But overall it feels good. Even better than it did before.”

“Do you feel restricted doing anything?”

“No,” Danny says, shaking his head. “I’ve been back on active duty, and everything—running, jumping, whatever—feels normal.”

“Good,” Steve says with a nod, rolling his stool closer. “Today we’re going to do a bunch of mobility exercises so we can compare them to where you were before and also so we’ll have a baseline in case you injure it again. Although in that case I’m probably going to recommend a different doctor.”

“But I can still have home visits, right?” Danny says, grinning shamelessly.

Steve shakes his head with a smile as he stands. “We will not be role-playing doctor and patient, so if that’s what gets you going, buddy, you’re shit outta luck.”

Danny laughs and situates himself on his back, stretching his legs out. “Nah, I think just you will be fine.”

Steve carefully picks up Danny’s leg, bends it, and leans his weight into the outside of his knee. It doesn’t hurt at all, so Danny lets Steve loom over his body—not that that’s really a hardship.

“Look at that,” Steve says as he releases his hold. “When we started your knee could barely move in that direction.”

He puts his hands on Danny again, bending his knee to test something else. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, drawing Danny’s attention to his strong, tanned forearms. Man, Steve looks nice in that shirt, and he does not hate how his tie brushes against Danny as he moves around. And Danny keeps catching whiffs of his aftershave—or maybe it’s cologne, he smells different today. Whatever it is, it’s fucking awesome.

“Seriously, stop it,” Steve says, but his smile completely contradicts his words.

“Stop what?”

“You’re staring at me like you want to devour me.”

“Of course I do. Have you _seen_ you?”

Steve rolls his eyes, though Danny definitely does not miss that flush high on his cheeks. “We just gotta get through like 20 more minutes of being professional.”

“Sorry,” Danny says, huffing out a laugh. He tries closing his eyes, but that only makes things worse—and by worse, he means easier to imagine Steve’s hands on other parts of his body. So instead he stares at the ceiling and tries to think of literally anything else.

He’s halfway through writing his latest arrest report in his head when Steve pats his thigh and gestures for him to sit up. “It all looks great,” he says. “You’ve been working really hard.”

“Pretty sure most of it is due to my awesome doctor. He’s a lot cooler than you, you know.”

“Wow, really?” Steve says. “Should I be jealous?”

“Definitely,” Danny says with a vigorous nod. “He’s really hot, and he’s even taking me out tonight.”

“Lucky guy,” Steve says, smiling. “And your flattery is unnecessary but encouraged.”

“Okay, I’ll be sure to keep it coming, then,” Danny says. Steve immediately opens his mouth, but then seems to reconsider and closes it again. “You were about to make a sex joke, weren’t you?”

“No,” Steve says, completely unconvincingly. “Anyway, let’s go. There are a couple new exercises that you need to keep doing twice a week.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find _some_ way to motivate me to do them.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve says, giving him a quick smack on the ass that makes Danny groan. “Less talking, more working.”

Finally, blessedly, the appointment is over, and they’re standing by the front door. Danny wants to do _something_ —jump for joy or rip off Steve’s tie, maybe—but there are people around. So he settles for extending his hand, a twinkle in his eye.

“Thanks, doc.”

Steve’s mouth turns up in a half-smirk as he shakes Danny’s hand and leans down right into his space. “Text me your address, and I’ll pick you up at six.”

Danny manages to nod before forcing himself to walk out the door.

* * *

Danny’s not pacing. He’s not.

Okay, maybe just a little. He knows it’s silly, but he’s nervous. Sure, he’s known Steve for ten weeks, but most of that had been under the guise of a professional relationship. Now all of that is gone, and this is just a flat-out date. A date with a great, really hot guy who he happens to like a whole bunch.

Yeah, he’s getting nervous again.

He busies himself by checking his reflection in the mirror. He looks pretty great, if he does say so himself. He’s in his normal work clothes, except that he has decided to leave the tie-wearing to Steve. Then he hears the rumble of what can only be Steve’s truck, and he takes a deep breath. He steps outside, and to Danny’s surprise, Steve swings down from the truck and walks over, carrying a large picnic basket.

“Hey, you look great,” Steve says. Danny thinks he’s going to kiss him but he stops about a foot away instead.

“Right back atcha, babe.”

Steve looks exactly the same as he did earlier in the day, but somehow it’s better since Danny knows he can _actually_ do something about it. He doesn’t though, not yet.

“So are we having a picnic in my front yard or something?” Danny asks, gesturing at the basket.

Steve just smiles. “Actually, can we take your car?”

“Sure,” Danny says with a shrug as he spins around, but then Steve meets him on the driver’s side. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Can I drive? Please? It’s such a nice car.”

Danny hesitates. “Man, you’re lucky you’re pretty,” he says finally, handing over the keys reluctantly. He circles the car to the passenger seat, which feels weird.

“I’ve always wanted to drive it,” Steve says as he adjusts the mirrors, and fucking hell, Danny won’t be able to deny him anything when he’s got that grin on his face.

“Well, as long as you treat her like a lady,” he says primly.

“Not so worried about any ladies right now,” Steve says with a grin, and Danny chuckles.

“So where are we headed?” he asks.

“Puu Ualakaa State Park. Best view in Hawaii,” Steve says.

“Wow, that’s a tall order right there. Even I will admit this place has some pretty nice spots.”

“Well, you haven’t seen this one yet.”

The drive up is slightly harrowing—and not just because of Steve’s penchant for treating speed limits like suggestions—but eventually they make it and find a free parking spot. Danny gets out of the car and stretches, then he looks around, spots the trail head.

“You better not have brought me on a _hike_ for our first date,” he says accusingly, whirling around to point a finger at Steve.

Steve laughs as he fishes the picnic basket out of the back seat. “Relax, it’s a short walk. Come on.”

He’s right—it’s a nice walk, made even more so when Steve casually picks up his hand. Danny pointedly looks down at their joined hands, but Steve just shrugs and smiles. So Danny stifles his own smile and lets himself be led forward.

“Whoa,” he breathes as they enter the park. “Look at that view.”

“Told ya.”

“You can see all the way from Pearl Harbor to Diamond Head!”

“I know, just wait until you see the sunset. Let’s find a place to sit.”

The park is fairly small, but several groups of people are there and the few picnic tables are already occupied. Steve follows Danny’s gaze and leads him closer to the edge before setting down the basket.

“Don’t worry, I came prepared,” he says, unearthing a blanket and unfurling it with a flourish.

“Very impressive,” Danny says as he sits down and stretches his legs out in front of him, bracing his weight on his arms. “Is this more of the Smooth Dog thing?”

“I just thought it would be nice,” Steve says mulishly, plopping down next to him.

“It is nice,” he says as he bumps their shoulders together.

“You’re never going to let me live that nickname down, are you?”

“Nope, never,” Danny says absent-mindedly as he looks around. “Please tell me you brought food.”

* * *

“So  _that’s_ why you were such an asshole that day?” Danny says, laughing as he leans closer to Steve, until their shoulders are pressed heavily together. “You were snooping on me and Mary?”

“Hey,” Steve says, pretending to be wounded. “I was a little sensitive, okay. I was excited after Kono told me about the bet, and then I hear you tell Mary that you don’t want to date anyone. Can’t blame a guy for being confused.”

“Yeah, because I was talking about _you_ , you goof. I don’t usually look at the stars—on a beach, no less—with just anyone, you know.”

“Yeah, well,” Steve says, floundering for a response to that, “you thought some _kid_ was my one-night stand.”

“Okay, that, admittedly, was a slight lapse in judgment. But in my defense, I still don’t know you that well—maybe you enjoy robbing the cradle.”

“Nah, I like my blondes to be a little closer to my own age.”

“Shut up,” Danny grumbles, but there’s a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Overall, the date has gone even better than Steve had expected. They enjoyed dinner—Steve kept it simple, just nice thick-cut sandwiches with some fruit, but Danny seemed to enjoy it all the same—and now they’re stretched out, watching the sunset.

“We’re lucky it’s a clear night,” Steve says. “What an awesome view.”

“It really is.”

Steve turns his head to see Danny looking up at him instead of at the sunset. “Yeah, now who’s the smooth one,” he says softly as he dips his head down to capture Danny’s lips. This one is even better than their first kiss at the barbecue, since they’re not hiding anything and since he knows the night isn’t going to end with just a kiss. Steve lets himself indulge in everything he wasn’t able to do before, slowing the kiss down, pushing his fingers through Danny’s hair, sucking on his lower lip, until Danny finally pulls away with a muted groan.

“Now as much as I’d like to stay here until the stars come out,” he says, “there’s somewhere else I’d rather be.”

“Back to my place?” Steve asks hopefully.

“Fuck yes. As soon as possible.”

Steve stands with a laugh and quickly gathers their stuff, grabbing Danny’s hand again as they make their way back to the car. He leans in to put the picnic basket in the backseat, but when he tries to stand, Danny’s weight presses him against the car, keeping him in place.

He manages to turn around but pulls Danny back against him as he slouches down and braces against the car. It’s Danny who initiates this time, pulling Steve’s head down and stretching up so that every inch of their bodies are in contact. Steve can’t help it, he moans right into Danny’s mouth as he wraps his arms tight around his ribs. Danny starts to pull away after a minute but Steve reels him back in, deepening the kiss and sliding the fingertips of one hand just under the waistband of his pants.

“I will arrest you,” Danny says, but the threat sounds awfully empty when his eyes are a little wild and his voice is all raspy like that.

“For what?”

“Indecent exposure, assaulting a police officer, take your pick, really.”

“I’m the one pressed up against the car here,” Steve says, lifting his hands and schooling his features into an innocent look. He snatches the keys out of Danny’s hand and nudges him off. “C’mon, let’s go.”

“I’m only being so agreeable because sex is in my future,” Danny says as he drops down into the passenger seat. “Just so you know.”

“Well, I’ll have to remember that, I feel that could come in handy.”

“Shut up, you big lug, and drive.”

The drive back to Steve’s place is quiet, but not uncomfortably so, and Danny follows Steve inside.

“You want a beer?” Steve asks, to be polite.

“No, not really,” Danny says, shaking his head.

“Oh, thank fuck,” he says with a loud exhale before he turns around and shoves Danny up against the wall. But he doesn’t kiss him right away, just holds him there and looks down at him, down at those bright blue eyes.

“What the hell are you doing, you Neanderthal?” Danny says, but he sounds impossibly fond, his hands sliding up Steve’s chest to toy with the hair at the nape of his neck.

“I’m sorry, are you complaining?” he says, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Only because we’re still wearing all our clothes,” Danny says, but Steve’s lips are on his practically before the words are out of his mouth.

This is fucking intoxicating, kissing Danny and knowing that there’s nowhere they have to be, nothing they have to do except move this upstairs and get more comfortable. The thought makes him press more of his weight against Danny, but he’s pushing back against Steve, giving as good as he’s getting. The feel of Danny’s strength is going to his head, and he’s practically trembling.

He works one hand between Danny’s body and the wall, yanking his shirt out of his pants and sneaking his fingers underneath. Steve greedily palms the warm skin, skimming his hand up and down while his other cradles Danny’s face. Danny still has his fingers twined in Steve’s hair and seems intent on his mission to explore every inch of Steve’s mouth with his tongue. He swiftly flips them, startling Steve as he kisses him hard and fast for a minute before dropping to his knees and reaching for Steve’s belt. Steve’s head thumps against the wall, and he enjoys the view for a few seconds before his brain kicks in.

“Oh, no no no,” he says, yanking at Danny’s shoulder.

“What?” Danny says breathlessly as he stands up again. “What’s wrong?”

“Your knee,” Steve says while he drops a short kiss on Danny’s mouth. “You are not undoing all my hard work by kneeling on this floor.”

“All of _your_ hard work?” Danny says incredulously as he pulls back, his hand on his chest. “I believe I was the one doing that work, actually.”

“Yeah, well, no one said putting up with all your bitching was easy,” he says. Danny bristles, and Steve needs to get this back on track—lest they actually bicker themselves out of sex—so he hauls him close again and leans down so his breath brushes against Danny’s lips. “Totally worth it, though, I’ll do it every day.”

“I know that was a Smooth Dog line, but I’m choosing to ignore that,” he says against Steve’s mouth.

“Just shut up and get your ass up those stairs.”

“Yes, sir, Lieutenant,” Danny says with a sloppy salute as he heads for the stairs. He stops about halfway up and turns around. “Or do you prefer doctor?”

Steve all but growls and gets both his hands on Danny, intending to push him up the stairs. But the temptation is too great and he stops instead, palming Danny’s ass with both hands as he stands on a lower step and kisses him. It’s definitely a novelty for Steve to tilt his head up to kiss someone, but he’s enjoying it here—Danny gives into it immediately and wraps both his arms around Steve’s neck. He tries to push Danny forward but he doesn’t budge, so Steve slides his hands down to the back of Danny’s thighs and lifts him.

“Well, this is embarrassing,” Danny mumbles into Steve’s neck, but he’s still biting and licking at the skin below his ear so he can’t be that torn up about it.

Steve welcomes the heavy weight as he reaches the top of the stairs and heads for his bedroom. He drops Danny on the bed and crawls after him, pressing a hand to his chest to push Danny back down against the bed when he tries to sit up.

Steve straddles him, sitting right down on his crotch, and fully untucks Danny’s shirt. He slowly undoes each button, alternating his gaze between Danny’s face and his chest as it’s revealed. “Goddamn Danny, that day in the pool, when you took your shirt off—Jesus fuck,” he says, his voice low and hoarse. “Hardest thing I’ve had to do, to not just take you right there.”

“Preaching to the choir here, buddy,” Danny says breathlessly, reaching a hand up to tug on Steve’s tie.

Steve spreads open Danny’s shirt and allows himself to be tugged down by his tie, blanketing Danny’s body with his weight. He can feel the heat of his skin, even through his shirt, and it makes him shiver. Danny shifts and dumps Steve off to his side, crawling halfway on top of him as he yanks off his shirt. “God, you in this tie. It should be illegal.”

“You would know,” Steve says, letting himself laugh and wallow in the sight of a gloriously shirtless Danny on top of him.

Danny just grins at him and props himself up on one elbow to more easily reach Steve’s tie. He slowly unties the knot and slides it carefully from underneath Steve’s collar before smoothing his hand down Steve’s chest. He thumbs open each button, faster than Steve had, and slips his fingers into the shirt before pulling it open. Danny kisses him again and slows it way down, turning it lush and deep, and Steve feels like he’s sinking into the bed. It’s all he can do to close his eyes and grip Danny’s biceps, smoothing his thumbs along the smooth skin.

“Sometime yu’re gonna have to tell me the story behind these,” Danny says, his voice muffled as he moves his mouth down and carefully licks the edge of each tattoo.

Steve nods jerkily, then gets a hand in Danny’s hair to tug him back up. “Later,” he says against his mouth.

“Yeah, I got other plans for that mouth,” Danny says with a cheeky smile. Steve laughs again—has he ever laughed this much during sex?—and winks as he sits up, dislodging Danny from his chest.

Danny rises to his knees and tugs at Steve, whose hand immediately goes to Danny’s waistband. Their kiss turns a little sloppy while Steve undoes Danny’s pants, anchoring his other hand in his hair to keep him steady. He shoves his hand inside and bites Danny’s lower lip gently as he palms Danny’s dick, which is hard and smooth in his hand. Danny pulls away to breathe harshly, but Steve just shifts his mouth to his neck and maintains the grip with his hand.

All of a sudden Steve finds himself on his back, looking up at Danny kneeling over him. He groans, his eyes roving over Danny as he pushes his pants and boxers all the way down. He is magnificent, all soft skin and hard muscle under golden hair, and his cock juts out proudly. Steve tries to help Danny with his own pants, but four hands really aren’t better than two, so he settles for arching off the bed to help Danny tug his pants down.

“Wow, going commando there, buddy?” Danny says, chuckling as he sweeps his hands from Steve’s abs over his hips and down to his thighs, avoiding his dick. There are a couple of ugly scars high on his thigh, leftovers from his injury, but Danny doesn’t seem to mind. “What, did you think you were going to get lucky or something?”

“I had a feeling,” he says with a grin, gazing up at Danny.

“So you thought I was a sure thing, huh?”

“Well, I was,” Steve says, lowering his voice. “So I was kinda hoping you were, too.”

Danny groans and leans down, covering Steve’s body with his own. “God, what are you doing to me?” he whispers in Steve’s ear, but then he’s gone, working his way back down.

Steve never really considered his nipples to be that sensitive, but Danny’s mouth must be magic because Steve’s arching up into him as if they’re connected straight to his cock. Danny’s hands are everywhere, from Steve’s shoulders to his thighs and finally, _finally_ on his dick. Steve thrusts up into Danny’s grip, even more so when Danny ducks down and sucks hard on the head of his dick.

“Oh, _fuck_ ,” he says, his eyes locked on Danny’s face. “God, Danny.”

The hot, wet pressure is amazing, making it hard to concentrate on anything but the feel of Danny’s mouth. He can see the muscles in Danny’s shoulder work as he jerks himself off, and he yanks on Danny’s hair, probably a little too hard, to dislodge him from his dick.

“Sorry, I just—I can’t wait anymore,” Steve says, scooting up against the headboard a bit. He tugs at Danny until he gets the idea, bracing his hands against the wall and planting his knees on either side of Steve’s broad shoulders. Steve tips his head forward and uses one hand to grasp the base of Danny’s dick, the other clutching his ass cheek. He lets Danny slowly thrust his cock into his mouth, swirling his tongue around.

“Motherfucker,” Danny whines, leaning his forehead against the wall and letting both hands drop gently to Steve’s head.

His grunts and whimpers are music to Steve’s ears, but he’s unerringly polite, not moving his hips at all. So Steve tugs just a little on his ass and groans around Danny’s dick when he moves his hips forward an inch. Steve is controlling the speed and depth of his thrusts with his hands, but Danny sure as hell doesn’t seem to mind.

“Steve, fuck, _Steve_ ,” he whines, curling his fingers reverently around Steve’s ear. “God, I’m close.”

Steve moves back for just a second, his hand moving quickly as he looks up at Danny. “Come wherever you want,” he says, his voice hoarse. He replaces his mouth and sucks eagerly, the noise almost drowning out Danny’s groan.

It only takes a couple more minutes before Danny’s babbling something and shoving himself backward, further down on Steve’s chest. Steve’s hand follows and quickly stripes his dick, causing Danny to thrust into it. Steve lifts his other hand to gently cup and roll his balls, then Danny makes some sort of fantastic noise—a mix between a grunt and a moan that Steve wants to hear a _lot_ —and he’s coming in long stripes across Steve’s chest, beautifully sculpted as he arches and twitches.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he chants, his eyes closed as he finds Steve’s hand and squeezes hard.

“Goddamn, Danny,” he says, and the gruff note to his voice, scraped raw, makes Danny’s eyes snap open and groan again.

Danny sits back, blowing out a loud breath, and his ass brushing against Steve’s cock makes him whine. Danny grins at that, and he moves himself off to Steve’s side. “What do you want, babe?”

“Anything,” he says, forcing the words out. “Won’t take—much.”

Danny swipes his fingers through his own come on Steve’s chest and uses it as lube as he slowly pumps Steve’s dick. He tries to moderate his breathing, but that doesn’t help with Danny’s gloriously calloused hand on his cock. So he just gives in—Danny squeezes once, twists a couple times, and that’s it. Steve clenches his eyes shut and holds his breath as his orgasm punches through him, stealing all the tension and leaving him reeling.

Danny exhales and plops down next to him. “You’re fucking beautiful, you know that?” he says into Steve’s hair, dropping a kiss at his hairline.

Steve just groans and tugs him closer until Danny’s draped over him, their legs intertwined. When he eventually gets his breath back, he turns his head and uses his nose to nudge Danny’s face up toward his, indulging in a long, lazy kiss. “So was that worth a ten-week wait?” he asks.

Danny laughs, loud and bright, and tucks his face into Steve’s neck. “For sure.”

* * *

Danny wakes up with a gasp, and it takes him a minute to realize why—Steve’s hard dick is poking him in the back of the thigh, and his hand is sneaking up his chest. It’s pitch-black outside, so it must be the middle of the night. But he woke up hard, too, so he arches back eagerly against Steve.

“This okay?” Steve asks, and somehow he manages to still sound sexy while he’s half-asleep.

“Yeah, yeah,” Danny croaks.

Steve’s cock slips between his thighs, and Danny gasps as he bumps up against the back of his balls. Steve pulls back for a minute, and when he comes back the slide is much easier. _Lube_ , Danny thinks absent-mindedly, but there’s no room for any more thoughts in his head. He just clenches his thighs tighter, is rewarded by Steve’s deep groan, and hides his smile in the pillow.

“I was dreaming, and I woke up, and you were there, and I just—” Steve gets all the words out in a rush and punctuates them with a groan.

Closing his eyes, Danny drops one hand down to his dick. But Steve snatches his hand away, twists it behind his back, and replaces it with his own hand. Man, his reflexes are alarmingly quick for the middle of the night. He’s pretty keyed up already, so it only takes a few short minutes before he’s spurting over Steve’s fingers with a gasp.

He tries to keep his thighs together as he shakes and comes down from his orgasm, and soon Steve comes, moaning low and quiet in Danny’s ear. Danny wants to complain about the mess between his legs, but Steve’s draped over his back, pushing him further onto his stomach, and within about three breaths he’s asleep again.

* * *

Indulging in the lazy stupor of being half-asleep, Danny resurfaces slowly and curls further into Steve, who’s apparently a human radiator. But the room is filled with the dull gray light of morning, so at least it’s a fairly acceptable time to be awake.

“Mmm,” Steve grumbles, and Danny can feel the vibration where their chests are pressed together.

Danny just murmurs in response and tucks his head into Steve’s neck. “Do we have to get up? Can we just stay here?”

“I cleared my schedule for today, I don’t have anything,” Steve says as he readjusts his grip on Danny’s waist.

Then the last of the cobwebs clear from Danny’s head, and he thinks about what Steve just said. “So you just _expected_ me to be easy?” he says, raising up on one elbow and running one hand down Steve’s chest. “That’s great, just great.”

“First of all, you are in fact currently in my bed. So...” Steve says, see-sawing with his hand and ducking out of the way when Danny swats at his head. “And I’d hardly call a ten-week courtship _easy_. This is at least our third date.”

“What in the world are you talking about?” Danny says, grinning. “That was totally our first date. Or still is, I guess.”

“Well, I’ve got about ten weeks of built-up sexual tension to deal with, so be glad that we have all day,” Steve says. He levers himself up and straddles Danny, running his hands down his stomach.

“Wait,” Danny says, sneaking out from under him. “Let’s go brush our teeth.”

“Are you serious?” Steve says flatly as he rolls onto his back.

“Of course I’m serious,” Danny says, already halfway to the bathroom. “You save morning breath for when you’ve been together for like a year and you want to have lazy orgasms without really kissing each other. This is still technically our first date, therefore we can have the decency to brush our teeth. And there’s nothing lazy about what I want to do to you.”

Steve groans, pressing his forehead into the pillow, but Danny hears him lumber into the bathroom a few seconds later. He brushes, spits, and rinses his mouth, then swats Steve on the ass as he heads back to the bed. “Hurry up.”

Steve crawls back in bed a couple minutes later, impossibly graceful, and Danny lunges up to kiss him. Steve slowly presses him back down until they’re plastered together from shoulder to thigh, making Danny groan and thrust up fruitlessly against his weight. The kiss is hot and frantic, as though they didn’t fool around just a few hours ago. He forces himself to pull back, though, and flips them.

“I believe I was interrupted last night,” he says, fitting his thumbs into the grooves of Steve’s hips.

“Oh, yeah?” Steve asks as he spreads his legs further. It seems impossible that someone can look that cute, but he’s got that boyish grin on, and one hand is clutching the pillow above his head.

Instead of answering, Danny just lowers himself onto his stomach and lightly runs his fingers up Steve’s inner thigh. Steve curses under his breath, but Danny doesn’t take pity on him yet, instead raining kisses and little bites around his hips and his groin.

“Danny,” Steve says with a sharp inhale, and he sounds so damn pitiful that Danny moves his mouth to the head of his dick. He’s rewarded with a loud whimper, so he speeds up. He balances on his elbow, using one hand to stroke what his mouth can’t reach and the other on Steve’s balls. It only takes a few minutes before Steve is close, Danny can tell—he’s twitching and his grip on Danny’s hair has tightened—but with a pained groan Steve pulls him back up his body again.

“What?” Danny asks, cutting him off with a harsh kiss before he can respond.

“Just wanna come together,” Steve says before rolling them over so he’s on top.

Danny settles in, welcoming Steve’s weight on top of him and bringing his knees up toward Steve’s ribs. Steve reaches over to the nightstand for a second and comes back with a handful of lube, smoothing it quickly over the both of them. Then he leans back down and finds Danny’s mouth again. Danny tilts his head for a better angle, letting Steve completely conquer his mouth. Danny lifts his hips and throws his head back at the feel of Steve’s dick sliding slickly against his. That plus the rub against Steve’s stomach is addictive, and Danny’s going to come embarrassingly fast.

Steve cries out, clenching Danny’s fingers in a vise grip as he comes, and the sight of him is what does it for Danny—gorgeous with those muscles twitching and moving in blissful agony. Danny’s orgasm feels like a wave crashing against the rocks, violent and beautiful and breaking apart on itself.

It takes him several seconds to remember how to breathe, and when he comes back to himself, Steve is laying on his stomach next to him, his eyes closed. Danny uses the last of his energy to scooch closer and drape himself partially over Steve’s back.

“I’m really glad that huge guy fell on my knee,” Danny says softly into Steve’s shoulder.

“Mmm, me too,” Steve murmurs. “Maybe we should send him a thank-you card in jail.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m definitely not opposed to writing more of this ‘verse, so let me know if you have anything that you particularly want to see. :)


End file.
